


50 Shades of Grayson

by Worlds_Okayest_Speedster



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Child Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fem!Wally, Genderbend, I definitely borrowed the Arkham Knight story for some chapters haha, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kinda, More tags to follow, Past Child Abuse, Slow-ish burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 52
Words: 169,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24290179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Worlds_Okayest_Speedster/pseuds/Worlds_Okayest_Speedster
Summary: An unstoppable force meets an immovable object.  Opposites attract, as they say.When Wally West first meets Dick Grayson, she's not impressed.  When Wally West first meets Robin, she's more than impressed.  Not knowing the object of her hatred and the object of her affections were one and the same, she attempts to unravel the mystery behind both boys she met that seem oddly similar in ways.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Wally West
Comments: 228
Kudos: 103





	1. Rather Die Than See You Again

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first chapter of the 50 Shades of Grayson Rewrite 2: Electric Boogaloo. There's going to be better pacing and hopefully less inserting of retcons when I think of things later. I'm not sure when I'll be posting chapters, but I'm hoping to get one out every two weeks or so.  
> Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!

She sat on a rooftop in Gotham, light from the Ace Chemicals sign silhouetting her profile and keeping her face hidden from anyone who came across her. Long, red hair fell loose over her shoulders and back, flowing slightly in the wind. She should be happy, being away from home, but all she could think about was who was waiting for her back home. If she could just stay on this business trip with her aunt forever, she would. Gotham was lovely and she wanted to keep seeing it everyday. Even if the crime rate was much higher than back in Central City.

“Hey, are you thinking of jumping? I can talk with you if you want. You don’t have to do it,” came a voice from behind her. She turned to see a boy dressed in a brightly colored costume, worry evident on his face. She shook her head and managed a small smile to try and ease him somewhat.

“No, I’m just enjoying some night air. Gotham’s so much different than back home… I wanted to see what it looked like at night! All lit up like this, it’s beautiful…” she said softly, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear. “You probably have to patrol or something, but do you still want to talk with me?” The boy hesitated a moment, but nodded and sat beside her.

“So… I guess you know who I am?” he asked, voice cracking a bit at the end. She nodded, swinging her feet slightly.

“You’re Robin. Batman’s sidekick. I pride myself in knowing a lot about the Justice League and whatever known sidekicks they have. My uncle gets me all the latest merch that he can find.” Robin hummed in thought, glancing over at her. She smiled a bit more, looking over at him and holding out her hand. “I’m Wally, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” Robin said, gently shaking her hand. “So, are you on a trip or something?”

“Well, my aunt was called here for a business trip and she brought me along since I’ve never been outside of Central City before! She’s a news reporter and the coolest person ever!” Robin smirked slightly at that, raising his chin just a bit.

“Well, clearly you haven’t met Batman.” Wally laughed a bit, swinging her feet and grinning.

“Clearly you haven’t met the Flash!” He looked her over, now noticing the red Flash hoodie she was wearing, her sneakers donning a hand-painted symbol on them as well.

“Big fan of the Flash, I’m guessing?”

“Uh, duh! He’s my hometown hero! I actually got to meet him a few times!”

“Nothing like meeting your heroes, huh?” Robin said, smiling a bit at her. Wally nodded, grin fading as she looked over her shoulder.

“Oh, looks like you got caught not patrolling…” Robin quickly turned to see what she was looking at, eyes widening at the sight of Batman standing behind them.

“Robin.” He scrambled to his feet, back straightening slightly. “Mind telling me what you think you’re doing?”

“I-I was patrolling, like you said, and I met this girl out here all alone and-” he stopped, having turned to point at Wally, only to find the space she had been empty with no trace that she had ever been there. “...She was just here…”

“Was she trying to commit suicide?”

“Um, no… She said she was just enjoying the night air of Gotham…” Batman hummed in thought, glancing over at the area Robin claimed to have seen this girl. Looking over the edge showed no body, nor was there any blood. “I swear, I saw a girl. She said she was from Central City and she was wearing a bunch of Flash stuff.”

“...Hm. Whether this girl was here or not, you were supposed to be patrolling. It was good of you to stop and make sure she wasn’t out here to jump, but you should have sent her back to where she was staying once you were sure she was okay.”

“I understand… I’ll keep going on my patrol route.” Batman nodded, leaving Robin to hurry off along the rooftops. He turned on his comm link, switching to a specific frequency.

“We need to have a talk about your niece.”

“Wally, you shouldn’t have snuck out like that! Gotham is more dangerous than Central! You could’ve gotten hurt or worse!” Iris fussed once Wally had returned to their hotel room. Wally pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I just wanted to see how nice it looked at night one more time before we leave tomorrow… Who knows if I’ll see it again…”

“Wally, you don’t know that. I’m sure Barry or myself will bring you back.” Wally pouted more, scrunching her nose slightly.

“I wasn’t even supposed to come this time. I had to promise not to interact with Uncle Barry for a while just to get permission to come with you… The conditions will just get worse and worse until I won’t be able to say yes to any of them and won’t be allowed to go anywhere outside of Central City!” Iris let out a breath, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head affectionately.

“Honey, you know you can talk to me about what’s going on at home, right? Are you sure nothing’s happening?” Wally nodded, pressing her face into Iris’s shoulder. “I just don’t understand why your father doesn’t like you hanging around Barry…”

“He doesn’t like that I idolize Uncle Barry. But I can’t help that Uncle Barry’s just so cool and amazing! Plus, he lets me do science stuff at STAR Labs! Mom and dad hate when I do science stuff at home!” Wally said, a pout evident in her voice. Iris chuckled a bit, stroking her hair.

“That might be because the last time you did science at home, you blew up the garage. If it were me, I wouldn’t let you do anything like that at home either.”

“Mmn…! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“I am, honey, I am! Come on, let’s go back to bed. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow and then we’re going back to Central.” Wally whined, pulling away slightly.

“Fine… Can you braid my hair, though?” Iris smiled and nodded, sitting her down and gently beginning to do her hair. “...I met a boy while I was outside.”

“Oh yeah? Anyone you know?” she teased.

“Kinda, I guess. It was Robin. Batman’s sidekick? He sat and talked with me for a bit before he got busted by Batman for not patrolling. I got outta there real quick, though.”

“Well, it’s nice to know that you made a friend. Maybe you’ll get to see him again one day.”

“Yeah… maybe…” Iris smiled softly, kissing her cheek.

“Get some sleep, honey.” Wally whined again, but agreed, cuddling up under the covers. Iris gently tucked her in, kissing her forehead and stroking her hair. Wally reached up, holding onto her free hand and closing her eyes, drifting off to sleep. Iris smiled softly, gently holding her hand until she finally fell asleep.

“Aunt Iris, is there gonna be stuff for me to do today? Yesterday, I wasn’t even allowed to sit through the boring presentations…” Wally said, following Iris through the streets of Gotham. Iris smiled and chuckled, glancing back at her.

“I think you’ll have fun this time. We’re going to Wayne Enterprises so I can get an interview with Bruce Wayne himself. If he’s kind enough, he may let you tour the building and look at all his fancy technology.” Wally’s eyes brightened, a grin appearing on her face. “Knew that would make you feel better. Come on, we can’t be late, right?”

“What are we waiting for?? Let’s get going!” Iris chuckled softly as Wally hurried a bit ahead of her, grabbing her hand and tugging on it a bit.

“Slow down, Wally! You know I can’t move as fast as you!” She smiled widely, Wally slowing her pace as they approached Wayne Enterprises. Iris smiled at her, nodding towards the entrance. “Ready, my assistant reporter?”

“Always ready!” Iris chuckled and smiled more, leading her inside. Wally bounced over to the receptionist desk, grinning widely. “Good morning! Wally West, junior reporter!”

“Um…” The receptionist looked confused at the 11-year-old in front of her, glancing at Iris and back to Wally. Iris smiled and patted Wally’s head.

“She’s just excited to be here. I’m Iris West-Allen, the reporter here to interview Mr. Wayne. This is my niece and she’ll be my assistant. Is Mr. Wayne available?” The receptionist opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by a different voice.

“Of course he is.” All three turned to see Bruce Wayne standing there, a small smile on his lips and a boy a bit younger than Wally at his side. “Iris, I presume? I’ve heard a lot about you from Barry. I’m glad you could make it all the way out to Gotham. This is my ward, Richard Grayson.” The boy, Richard, raised his hand in greeting with a small smile. Wally stared at them, wide eyed and curious.

“You know my Uncle Barry?? He never told me he knows Bruce Wayne!!” Bruce chuckled, turning his attention to Wally.

“And you must be the lovely Wally West. Barry’s told me quite a bit about his favorite niece.” Wally grinned and laughed.

“I’m his only niece.”

“All the more reason you’re his favorite, then. Now, I’m sure you’d be bored just following Iris and I around while she interviews me, Wally. So, how about you go on a tour and conduct your own little interview with my ward? I’m sure the two of you will get along just fine.” Wally grinned, turning to Iris and holding out a hand. Iris rolled her eyes playfully, smiling as she handed over a pen and notepad.

“If you take good enough notes, I might just include it in the story,” Iris said, smiling more when Wally gave a small salute before hurrying over to Richard’s side.

“Hey! I’m Wally West, junior reporter and the best tour mate there is around! Mr. Wayne said your name was Richard Grayson, right?” Richard looked amused at how much Wally was emulating an actual reporter, the adults already walking off and talking with each other.

“Yeah, I’m Richard Grayson, young ward of Bruce Wayne. But most people call me Dick. And I prefer that, too.” Wally nodded, sticking her tongue out slightly as she wrote that down. Dick gave a small smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, I was told to just give you a basic tour of the building and not show you any super cool stuff - not that the other stuff isn’t cool - but I think we can break the rules a little and do something fun. C’mon, I’ve got something your aunt will really love for her story.”

“Ooh, I love things I’m not allowed to look at! Show me,” Wally said, grinning widely. Dick nodded, gesturing for her to follow him. She happily followed him, looking around at everything they passed. “So, is this top secret stuff or what?”

“If it was top secret, I wouldn’t tell you that your aunt could use it, right? It’s just some revolutionary technology. No big deal.” He smirked more when he heard Wally frantically scribbling something down and quickening her pace to walk beside him.

“How revolutionary are we talking here? Like life-saving revolutionary or potentially world ending if put in the wrong hands revolutionary?”

“Isn’t every revolutionary tech potentially world ending if in the wrong hands?”

“That’s fair. But I hang around STAR Labs, so I’ve seen a lot of fantastic tech and what it can do to help people. So, how impressive could this be?” Dick chuckled and shook his head slightly.

“You are really weird, you know that? It’s in here.” He stopped and opened a door, gesturing for her to step inside first. She blinked and cautiously stepped inside, unsure of how dark it was in the room.

“Uh, hey… Where is this thing you were talking about? It’s so dark…” she asked, her voice cracking a bit at the end. She heard the door shut behind her, plunging her into total darkness. She rushed towards the door, banging on it and trying to get it to open. No luck. It was locked from the outside, requiring a key card to open it again. “H-Hey…! What’s going on? Why’d you lock the door?” There was laughter from the other side of the door, the high pitched laughter of a young boy causing mischief. A distinct sound that she had never heard from anyone else before.

“Just making sure you don’t cause any trouble. I know all about you and what happens when you get your hands on science-y stuff. You blew up your house last time, from what I heard. I’ll come get you again when Bruce finishes his interview.”

“No… No, wait, let me out! Please, you can’t leave me here!” He laughed again and she heard him walk off, leaving her alone in the dark with no other exit. She whined and banged on the door a few more times, giving up when her hands started to hurt. She felt around the wall near the door, trying to find a lightswitch or anything to give her some kind of light. Her fingers hit a button, Wally pressing it with more force than what was probably necessary, wincing when the room suddenly lit up.

She took in her surroundings, noting all the half finished tech and junk scattered around on tables, tools strewn about and abandoned. There was some kind of lock on her side of the door as well, though she didn’t see any key card just laying around. Of course employees at Wayne Enterprise wouldn’t just leave something like that laying around. But she was smart. She could think her way out of this. If she could relax long enough to get a coherent escape plan into her head.

“C’mon, Walls… You can do this… You are the smartest 11-year-old in Central City and you can definitely get yourself out of a locked room… Think… Think…” She took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. Taking another glance around the room, she quickly analysed what she would need and how to use it. She took one more deep breath, letting it out slowly before getting to work.

“Thank you for taking time out of your day for this interview, Mr. Wayne. It’s been an honor speaking with you,” Iris said, smiling widely and shaking Bruce’s hand.

“It’s been no trouble at all, Iris. Would you like to join us for lunch? I’m sure our respective children have been getting along-” The door slammed open, both adults looking over to see a panting Wally standing there, looking frazzled and as if she had been running through the halls looking for them.

“Excuse my language, but Dick Grayson is an asshole!” Iris gaped at her, too shocked to scold her on her language use. Bruce hummed, gesturing for her to come closer.

“What did he do?” She pouted, stomping closer and crossing her arms over her chest.

“He told me he’d show me some super cool revolutionary tech for Aunt Iris’s story and then locked me in a dark room all by myself! When I told him to let me out, he just laughed at me and told me I couldn’t cause any trouble in there and then walked away!” Bruce nodded, looking at her with a neutral expression, but she could see an amused glint in his eyes.

“And how did you get out of a locked room scenario?” Wally huffed, raising her chin and smirking slightly.

“I hacked into the card reader on my side of the door and unlocked it. It wasn’t that hard. Though, your security is kinda shoddy if an 11-year-old from Central City can easily get into it with nothing but a bunch of junk and half finished tech.”

“Wally…!” Iris exclaimed, a bit scandalized that she would even think of confessing to hacking into Bruce Wayne’s technology in front of Bruce Wayne himself. To her surprise, Bruce chuckled softly and nodded.

“I’ll take measures to make it harder for you to break in. And I’ll have a talk with Dick. Speaking of, your aunt and I were thinking of getting lunch. All four of us. What do you think?”

“No offense, Mr. Wayne, but I’d rather die than have lunch with him. Thank you for offering though. Do you want the notes I took while I was breaking out of that room? They might help you improve the system.”

“If you’re willing to give them up. I must say, you’re quite intelligent for someone your age. Would you be interested in joining the internship I’m setting up? It allows children to come in and experience what it’s like to work in this area.” Wally blinked then smiled and shook her head.

“Thanks but no thanks, Mr. Wayne. I’m already a part of the Little Stars program at STAR Labs. Gotta stay loyal to Uncle Barry’s friends and all that. Plus, they have more kaboom-type science and you have more computer-type science. I like my kabooms.”

“From what your uncle told me, you do certainly seem like the type. Well, I’ll keep a spot open for you here if you ever change your mind in the future.”

“Thank you, Mr. Wayne. I’m sorry for bursting in here and yelling about your ward. And for hacking into your security system to break out of a room…”

“No need to apologize. I’ll be sure to inform STAR Labs and Barry about how much you’ve helped me improve things around here. Do you need to be on your way, Iris?” Iris shook herself out of her initial shock, nodding and smiling slightly.

“Yes, thank you. Come on, Wally. I’ll let you decide what we do next before we have to leave.” Wally gave a small cheer, hurrying out of the room with a quick farewell to Bruce. Iris smiled fondly, bidding her goodbyes as well before following Wally out. Bruce watched them go before sighing softly.

“Why did you do what you did?” Dick frowned, peeking out of his hiding spot.

“You told me she blew up her garage at home and nearly caused three explosions at STAR Labs! I was just… making sure she wouldn’t make anything blow up here. This isn’t her home turf.”

“She knows it’s not. You forced her to break out and potentially cause a security breach. Do you realize how terrible that would have been for both Iris and myself if it turned out she set off the alarms?” Dick huffed softly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“She’s dangerous. Who knows what went wacky in her head after so many explosions to the head…”

“That’s rude. You may be working with her in the future.”

“Hmph. She’s loyal to STAR Labs. No way would she want to work here! Besides, I’d rather die than see her again.”

“Wally, honey,” Iris said as they sat down for lunch. Of course Wally had managed to sniff out a Big Belly Burger here in Gotham. “What happened between you and that boy?”

“I didn’t do anything, if that’s what you’re implying! I was being a good junior reporter and doing exactly what you taught me to do! I introduced myself, confirmed his name and he told me he had something to show me, so I followed him. But he tricked me and locked me in a room. I think he knew about what I did back home and he thought I’d do the same thing there. He thought I was going to hurt people…” Wally explained, her irritation at being accused of doing something overtaken by frustration and confusion. “I don’t wanna hurt people… I wanna help them… Like the Flash…”

“I know, Wally. He just doesn’t know how wonderful you are. Maybe the next time you meet up, you’ll be better friends.” Wally pouted, angrily sipping her milkshake.

“I’d rather die than see him ever again.”


	2. Red Heads Need To Stick Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect kinda sporadic updates, but I'll try to get at least one out every couple of weeks or so.  
> Also, I love the idea that Roy and Wally adopted each other as their sibling and just hang out all the time.

Wally pouted, knees against her chest as she looked out over Central City. She had told everyone she was going for a walk, just a bit of fresh air. She wasn’t totally lying. There was plenty of fresh air on top of the highest building in the city. And the only person who could get to her wasn’t allowed near her for the time being as a part of her agreement to go to Gotham with Iris. She sighed, staring blankly out at her precious city as she thought of the two boys she had met, and how different they appeared to be.

“You know, I’m sure there are easier places to get to if you want to brood.” She pouted more, huffing and looking over at the owner of the voice. Roy Harper smirked at her, sitting beside her and letting his bow rest across his lap. “I’ve seen you upset before, but never broody. What’s on your mind?”

“...Roy, do you know anything about Dick Grayson?” He hummed in thought, glancing over at her. She had looked away at this point, back to looking out at the city.

“Not much. I haven’t met him personally and I can’t get a good read on him through interviews alone.”

“Hm… What about Robin? You’ve been a sidekick longer than me. Have you met him before?” Roy noted that her voice sounded lighter when asking about Robin, a small smile on his lips as he thought of an answer.

“Well, I haven’t worked with him much, but he’s very… interesting to work with. He takes after Batman alot and tends to formulate a plan, but not tell anyone else what it is. But he’s got a kind heart and the right need to help people, even if it gets him in trouble sometimes. Kinda like you. You have a good heart, but sometimes you follow that too much rather than your head. He’s smart, like you, too. Can hack into just about anything faster than anyone I’ve seen.”

“...I met him. When I went to Gotham. I wanted to see Gotham at night one more time before we came back home, and he sat on the roof with me and we talked. It was nice until he got busted for not patrolling. Got outta there as fast as I could, but… I think Batman caught a glimpse of me as I was leaving. I tried asking Cisco and Caitlin if Uncle Barry had talked to Batman, but they won’t tell me…”

“Mm… So, you have a crush on Robin.” It wasn’t a question. Wally gasped and looked at him, offense written all over his face. He smirked back at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “Am I wrong? Tell me if I’m wrong.”

“You-! I mean, I can’t believe-! You just-! Ugh!” She groaned and pointedly turned away from him. Roy laughed, smiling widely and tilting his head.

“So I’m right. You’ve got a crush. And it only took one conversation, too. You have some pretty weird standards…” She whined and kicked her feet angrily. “Don’t do that or you’ll fall off. Come on, I’ve got a day of hanging out with my favorite redhead and I don’t want to waste anymore time.” She let out a breath, looking over at him.

“...Who called you and told you I needed cheering up?”

“Wow, I hate how perceptive you are sometimes. Barry called Oliver and Ollie told me that you were moping around and acting very much not like yourself. But it was my idea to make a day out of it instead of just telling you to cheer up and then leaving you to continue moping. I heard they opened up a new exhibit at the regular museum and at the Flash museum. Have you been yet?” She shook her head. “Great. Because I want to experience it for the first time with you.”

“...Alright, beam us down, Scotty.” He laughed, getting to his feet and shooting a zipline arrow, holding out his arm.

“That is definitely not how that line goes. Hold on tight, speed racer.” She smiled slightly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grinned, wrapping his arm around her waist and kicking off the building. Wally laughed happily as they ziplined back to the ground, clinging to Roy tightly and smiling widely. Roy tightened his grip on her as well, glad that she was already having fun. Once they landed, Roy stashed his bow and quiver away in one of the many safe places Ollie had set up. “Ready for our date, Miss West?”

“This is definitely not a date.” He nodded sagely, offering her his arm.

“Sibling day, then? Us redheads need to stick together, right?” She smiled, looping her arm through his.

“Absolutely. Shall we be on our way, Mr. Harper?”

“We shall, Miss West.” She giggled, happily walking off with him. He led her to the Natural Science Museum first, Wally flashing her STAR Labs badge as Roy was buying tickets. As they walked further into the building, he chuckled and looked at her. “What was that about, huh?”

“One of the perks of being a part of the Little Stars program. Discounts at the museums and also at Jitters, strangely enough. Uncle Barry says I can only buy hot chocolate multiple times in a row, though. But he lets me have coffee twice a day. Also, I come and hang out at the museums a lot anyway, so I think the ticket people will just give me a discount even if there isn’t one…”

“Well, you do have an affinity for making friends with people older than you, huh? Do you have any friends your age I don’t know about?” Roy asked as they slowly wandered the geode exhibit. Wally made a small noise, neither confirming nor denying. “Walls, what’s stopping you from making friends at school or in your neighborhood?”

“Well, first it was because I was a weirdo who only ever talked science with big words none of the other kids knew. And now, it’s the same but I’ve got super speed and no way to emotionally connect with people my age because I grew up surrounded by adults and no one to play with. So connecting with people older than me is easier than trying to comprehend whatever kids in my age group are into.”

Roy nodded, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. He knew it was true. He and Wally had bonded over the physics and science of Roy’s bow and arrow abilities as well as how his trick arrows worked. She had impressed both himself and Oliver with how intelligent she was and how relaxed she seemed around strangers. But he had also seen how awkward she was around people closer to her age. She would freeze up and not know how to respond when asked about her interests.

“Well, what if there are kids interested in the League like you are? You could talk about that,” he offered, observing a large emerald and the peridot next to it. “I can’t decide which one looks more like your eyes.” Wally stood next to him, eyes glancing between both gems.

“Most kids don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of just about every known fact about the League. You know me, Roy. Once I get talking about something, I keep going until either I’m done or whoever I’m talking to walks away out of disinterest. Also, the emerald is closest to my eye color. Why? You gonna buy me something?”

“Maybe. Ollie lets me use his credit card, so why not? He’s got the money, right? Probably won’t even notice.” She smiled at that, walking with him to the next exhibit. “So, tell me about Dick Grayson? I’m gonna take a guess and say you met him during your trip to Gotham.”

“Wow, since when did you get detective skills? Been training under Batman lately?” she teased, looking up as they entered a new section of the museum, her eyes widening. “Woah, is this all about speed and physics?! Oh, you know me so well, Roy!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m the greatest. Now, about my question.” She nodded, hurrying over to one of the displays. He followed her over, reading the description on the plaque as Wally began speaking again.

“Yeah, I met him. So what? He’s got a pretty face and an ugly personality. Wanna know what he did? He offered to show me something cool so junior reporter Wally West could get something nice for Aunt Iris’s story, and then he locked me in a room because he heard about what I did to my garage.” Roy nodded, pausing before smirking and glancing at her.

“You hacked into Bruce Wayne’s security to escape, didn’t you?” She laughed and grinned at him.

“I very much did. Gave him my notes, though, and told him to beef it up. He told me he looked forward to the next time I try to break in.” Roy chuckled softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “Just wish my parents would let me leave Central more often… Always wanted to come hang out with you over in Starling. You’ve seen just about everything here by this point.”

“...Wally, tell me what’s going on at home. You may not be a normal kid, but normal parents don’t keep their kids trapped in their own home.”

“Everything’s fine. Why do people keep-”

“I know that the only reason you are let out of the house is because Cisco and Caitlin created the Little Stars program and gave you a spot on Barry’s request. I know that’s why you don’t have the social skills to interact with anyone your age. Wally, everything is not fine and I want to know what they’re doing to you.”

“They’re not doing anything-”

“You said that too quickly. That’s one of your tells. When you have a lie that you’ve told over and over again to the point that it’s an automatic response, you say it too quickly. You’re not the only one with observational skills, Wally.” She clenched her jaw, not taking her eyes off of the display in front of her. Roy leaned in a bit closer, keeping his voice low. It was lucky that they looked similar. To anyone looking in, they just looked like an older brother explaining the display to a younger sister.

“I could run away from you faster than you could catch me.”

“But you won’t. Because you want to tell someone, but you can’t. You’re afraid of something. Or of someone. Who or what is it?”

“Roy, please… Don’t do this-”

“Wally, I love you and I respect that you need to keep your secrets. But if your parents are hurting you in any way, you need to tell me. I may not have seen any bruises - and no offense to you in any way, shape or form - but you do not act like a normal 11-year-old. It’s not just because you’re intelligent. You can see the subtle ways people act, pick up on the subtle emotions and tones in their voices. You’re constantly looking for something in people and only relax when you realize that they’re not angry or upset with you. Now why is that?”

“...I can’t tell you.”

“And why not?”

“Because they have eyes and ears all over Central. If I say the wrong thing or they see me hanging around people I’ve been told to stay away from, they’ll know and I’ll pay the price for disobedience. So please stop asking me questions about it.”

“...” Roy stayed quiet, though he didn’t pull away from her. Something was wrong here, but he wasn’t getting any answers from Wally herself. At least, not when he asked questions. He’d have to investigate and play detective. “Alright, so what if I say something and you either confirm or deny it.”

“...Are we playing a game now?”

“If you want to think of it that way, yes.”

“...Fine.” He nodded, leading her to a different display and keeping his voice low, now aware of the eyes that followed them. He hadn’t realized it earlier, but after she mentioned people watching her every move, he finally caught on to what she was talking about.

“Your parents have too much control over you and keep you isolated from others.” Wally frowned, shoving her hands into her pockets.

“Yes.”

“They have people all around the city watching your every move to ensure you don’t tell anyone what they’re doing to you.”

“...Yes.”

“They’ve emotionally manipulated and abused you to the point where you have trouble connecting with people your age.”

“Yes…”

“...At least one of your parents is physically abusing you.”

“...” Wally stayed silent, eyes trained on the display in front of her. Her silence told him everything he needed to know. He nodded, keeping a protective arm around her.

“They’re threatening you into silence so you won’t go to the police or anyone else.”

“...Not like the police believe me to begin with…”

“And that’s why they don’t like you hanging around Barry. They’re afraid you’ll tell him everything and he’ll use his job at the CCPD to do something about it.”

“...Yes…”

“...” He studied her for a moment, squeezing her shoulder slightly. “You don’t want me to tell anyone what you’ve said today.”

“If you do, I’m going to pay the price for it.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, fear evident and a slight tremble in her words. “...Can we go somewhere else? Too many people are watching me here…”

“Yeah. Let’s go to the Flash museum. I’ll get you whatever you want from the gift shop.” She nodded, Roy leading her towards the exit. He took note of faces that were watching them, acting natural and mentally making a list of descriptions to give to Barry and Ollie. As they walked, Roy kept Wally within his grasp, keeping a lookout for anyone that seemed to be looking at her.

“Oh, Roy! I didn’t know you were in town today!” came a voice from behind them. The duo turned to see Iris standing there, a smile on her face. Roy smiled back, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ha ha, yeah! I heard Wally was feeling a little bummed out about something so I decided to drop by and steal her for the day! We were just on our way to the Flash museum to get a look at the new exhibit. I know how much she loves the Flash, right Walls?”

“Yeah, I haven’t had the chance to go yet! And I definitely wasn’t gonna pass up the chance to hang out with my bro!” Wally said cheerfully, a grin spreading across her face. It was remarkable that she was able to quickly put up such a believable facade, Roy thought. Years of practice, he supposed. It’s easy to fake a smile when you’ve had to do it for your entire life.

“It’s good you’re having fun and getting out of the house! But I thought you said you had work at STAR Labs today.”

“Not so much work as it was doing some worksheets Caitlin came up with for me. She set me free when I finished them. ‘Sides, I couldn’t hang around there for too long.” Iris nodded and smiled softly, patting her head affectionately.

“Well, it’s a bit of a coincidence that you two are on your way to the Flash museum. I was just heading there myself to do a story on it, if you two would like a ride. You two could do an interview for it.” Wally grinned more, this one looking more genuine.

“That would be awesome! Right, Roy??”

“Yeah, totally. I think we’ll take you up on that offer, Iris.”

“Great! There’s room in the back of the news van for you. I hope you don’t mind all the equipment, Roy.” Roy shook his head, climbing into the back of the van with Wally. Iris’s cameraman peeked in the rearview mirror, smiling widely at Wally.

“Hey, kiddo. Long time, no see.” Wally perked up, grinning at him.

“Hey! This is Roy! He’s super cool!” Roy raised a hand in greeting, smiling slightly and settling in beside Wally. “Aunt Iris, before I go home, can I get Jitters?”

“Sure, honey. Just make sure it’s only a hot chocolate, okay?”

“I’ll make sure it’s only a hot chocolate. Been meaning to try it myself, anyway,” Roy said, smirking at Wally when she pouted at him.

“How come you get to drink all the caffeine you want?”

“Because I’m older than you and also not a budding coffee addict.”

“I’m not addicted!”

“Not yet. I know you science-y types. And I’ve seen Barry. He downs coffee like there’s no tomorrow!” She whined and pouted more at him, arms crossed over her chest. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “If you’re good, I’ll get you something with caffeine in it. But don’t tell anyone.” She smiled and nodded, cuddling up to his side. He smiled back, keeping an arm around her and looking up when the van stopped. Waly grinned and clambered out of the van, bouncing a bit on her feet in excitement.

“We’re going to film outside and around the other exhibits a bit before doing the interviews. You two have fun and go check out the new exhibit. We’ll come find you when we’re ready,” Iris said, straightening her jacket and making sure she was presentable for the camera.

“You’re not doing this live?” Wally asked, taking Roy’s hand once he was out of the van.

“We are, but we’re trying to make it look like we just ran into you two here instead of setting up interviews. Make it seem a little more natural, you know?”

“Makes sense. Hey Walls, go on ahead without me for a sec. I gotta ask your aunt for some tips on being interviewed.” Wally tilted her head, pursing her lips a bit.

“But I could-”

“I know, but your aunt has more experience. I’ll catch up in a bit. Don’t worry, I’ll find you.” Wally pouted, but nodded, hurrying inside the museum. Roy watched her go, making sure she had actually gone inside before turning to Iris. “Hey, can we talk in the van? There’s too many eyes and ears out here…”

“Um, sure… What is this about, Roy?”

“I’ll tell you in the van.” Iris nodded, climbing into the back with Roy. He let out a breath, shutting the doors and sitting down so no one could see him through the windshield, Iris following his lead. “Roy, what’s going on?”

“Wally’s being abused. And apparently there are people all around the city that keep an eye on her and report to her parents if they see her interacting with people she’s not supposed to or telling people what’s going on at home. The only reason I know is by stating my suspicions and she would either confirm or deny it.” Iris blinked at him, taking in this new information.

“...What happens if she does something she’s not supposed to?”

“All she told me is that she pays the price for her actions. You can’t tell her that I told you any of this. I promised her I wouldn’t say a word to protect her, but I thought you needed to know. We both know she’ll never say anything out of fear.”

“Thank you for telling me, Roy, but unfortunately without any physical proof, I can’t do anything. If I ask her to file a report to the police, she’ll deny everything and most likely just get into trouble with her parents. I’ll keep a closer eye on her, though.” Roy nodded, letting out a breath.

“I’ll ask Ollie to keep in touch with Barry, too. See if Wally tells Barry anything and if Ollie can help in any way. As long as her parents don’t think I’m a threat to them, I should be able to continue coming by and visiting her, but… Iris, she needs friends. Barry needs to introduce her to other sidekicks or something. People closer to her age. Maybe interacting with younger sidekicks will help her socialize better since they’ll have the same interest,” Roy said, leaning his cheek into his palm. “She’s already met Robin, but not as Kid Flash, y’know? And I might be able to set up a meeting with another sidekick that she could hang around…”

“You know she’s not allowed outside of Central City… Especially not with Barry…”

“Do they know she’s Kid Flash?” Iris frowned and shook her head.

“If they knew, she’d be trapped in her own house… But maybe I could convince them to let up a little and allow her to leave under the guise of sleeping over your place every now and then. Maybe. If not, you’d have to arrange for them to come here and meet up with her.” Roy nodded, pulling out his phone.

“I’ll see what I can do. I should probably head inside before Wally comes looking for me. See you in a bit.” Roy opened the back door of the van, sliding out and straightening up. He quickly headed inside, easily finding the new exhibit and Wally standing in front of a statue of the Flash. “Hey, enjoying the museum?”

“Yeah! This new exhibit is super cool! Did Aunt Iris give you good tips?”

“Definitely. Hey, so what would you say to me introducing you to some other sidekicks? Who knows? You might end up working with more than just me someday.”

“Other sidekicks? But I’m not allowed to leave Central! They’d have to come here and that tends to be an inconvenience to everyone but you since you live a train ride away.” Roy chuckled, resting his arm around her shoulders.

“That’s fair, but I think it’ll be good for you. Robin has never met Kid Flash, and I might have someone else who might want to meet you. He hasn’t met any sidekicks, either.”

“Oh… But wouldn’t it be kinda suspicious if Robin just showed up in Central City for no reason and without Batman?”

“Hm… Then he’ll just have to come out of costume. In a disguise, though, to hide his secret identity. You know how those Gotham City superheroes are. Way too uptight about secret identities.” Wally giggled and nodded, leaning against him.

“I think that’ll be fun! Can it be soon? Can I meet them soon??”

“I’ll get it set up as soon as possible. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect!”


	3. Be Careful What You Say

Wally fidgeted nervously in her seat, fingers drumming on the cup of hot chocolate in front of her. Roy had set up a meeting with Robin and this other sidekick he knew, but he was late and she was starting to get anxious. There was hardly anyone in Jitters at this time of day, and the silence was invading her mind. With the silence came thinking, and with thinking came simulations, and with simulations came bad scenarios. And bad scenarios came with anxiety. She whined a bit, draining her cup and hurrying over to the counter, digging in her pocket for more money.

“Back again, honey?” the barista asked with a small smile. “You don’t have to pay for this one, dear. It’s slow and you look like you’ve been waiting for someone. Here, I’ll make you a special one fitting for a STAR Labs employee!” Wally gave a small smile, putting some money in the tip jar and waiting patiently at the counter. A few minutes later, an uncovered cup was placed in front of her, whipped cream and chocolate drizzle coming out the top. “Just for you, sweetie. Enjoy! I hope whoever you’re waiting for comes soon. Is there anything you’d like to watch on the TV while you wait?”

“Could you put on the science channel, please?” The barista nodded with a smile, gladly changing the channel for her as she sat down. “Thanks!” Wally sipped her hot chocolate, feeling a little less anxious now that there was something to distract her. So involved in watching the TV, she didn’t hear the ringing of the bell on the door, signalling the arrival of more customers.

“How long have you been sitting here by yourself, Walls?” She yelped and jumped, nearly falling out of her chair in fright. Roy laughed and caught her arm, pulling her until she was upright again. “Sorry. You’re just so easy to get sometimes. But seriously, how long have you been here and what number hot chocolate is that?”

“Okay first of all, you’re late. I was here on time for once. Second, this is the third one, if you must know,” she said, sticking her tongue out at Roy. He laughed again, taking a seat next to her.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Took one of the sidekicks a while to get to our meeting point. Speaking of, that’s them, over there,” he said, directing her attention to two people at the counter ordering drinks. One was Robin, she remembered him from that night in Gotham. He was dressed much more casually, though she couldn’t help but think he looked like someone else she knew… The other was a tall, dark skinned boy about her age, blonde hair shaved down, though she couldn’t discern much else from how much he was covering his body. “I told them that Jitters hot chocolate was to die for, so I think that’s what they’re ordering.”

“I see. How long are they staying?”

“Most of the day. Robin has to be back before nightfall. You know how Batman is.” She nodded her understanding, taking a sip of her own hot chocolate. “Don’t worry. I’m staying as well just in case you freeze up and don’t know what to say.”

“Thanks.” Roy nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as the other two sidekicks sat across from them. Wally averted her gaze, sipping her hot chocolate. Roy gave a smile, pulling Wally a bit closer.

“Hey, so glad you two could join us! Robin, I hear you’ve already met Wally. But I bet you didn’t know she’s also a sidekick!” Robin smiled slightly, looking over at Wally.

“Oh yeah? Lemme guess… You’re… Kid Flash, right? Sidekick to the one and only Flash here in Central City.” Wally nodded, setting down her cup.

“Yeah, I’m Kid Flash. Don’t really give off a superhero vibe, though…” Robin hummed in thought, tilting his head as he observed her.

“Mm… I dunno, you seem plenty super to me. I mean, it doesn’t take just anyone to keep up with the Flash, after all.” She gave a small shy smile at that, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear. Roy hummed at that, glancing between them with a knowing smirk before turning his attention to the other sidekick.

“And I don’t believe you’ve met anyone, right? Mind giving us an introduction?” The boy nodded with a smile.

“My name is Kaldur’ahm, but you may call me Kaldur or Aqualad. I have never met other sidekicks before, so I hope we will get along.”

“Kaldur’ahm’s a weird name,” Wally said, looking up to see everyone staring at her. “What? S’not like I don’t have a weird name either! Who names their daughter Wally anyway?”

“I did find myself thinking that Wally was an odd name for a girl such as yourself,” Kaldur said, an amused smile on his face.

“Well, congratulations. We can be weird name buddies. What about you, Rob? Got a weird name you’d like to add in here?”

“I don’t think anyone has ever called me ‘Rob’ before.”

“Get used to it.” Roy poked her side. Hard. She winced, but complied and shut up for now. Robin hummed, watching the silent interaction carefully. He opened his mouth to say something, but was beat to it by his companion.

“Are you, perhaps, unsure how to interact with us, Wally?” Kaldur asked.

“...Is it that obvious I’m not well socialized?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I noticed that as soon as we walked over, you had tensed up and started drinking from your cup. Roy was the one to introduce you as well. Do you not interact with others your own age?”

“No… Roy’s the only one I really talk with… Besides Cisco and Caitlin, I guess…”

“...” Robin observed her closed off behavior and body language, noting how she seemed to be leaning into Roy and trying to hide herself from the conversation. “...You seem really awkward right now. Definitely overwhelmed.”

“...” Wally pouted, avoiding eye contact and crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m going to the bathroom…” She hopped off her chair, hurrying into the back of the cafe. Roy let her go, running a hand down his face with a heavy sigh.

“Hey, so, can we not point out her obvious anti-social behaviour and her social awkwardness? I brought you guys out here to help her with that and she’s not getting the best first impression of you guys right now. She’s… ugh, how do I put this…” Roy grumbled, leaning forward on the table. “She’s isolated by her parents. There’s something going on at home and she can’t talk about it due to eyes and ears all around Central to make sure she doesn’t say a word. Any kids around her age think she’s weird, so she gravitates towards people older than her. That’s why her only friends are myself and a couple scientists back at STAR Labs.”

“So… how are we supposed to help with that?” Robin asked. “She doesn’t seem open to the idea of letting other people in.”

“I hoped that having her socialize with other sidekicks would help her branch out a bit more since you all have something in common. And I’m hoping that if this goes well, maybe it’ll give her an excuse to get out of Central City more often. She can tell her parents that she’s sleeping over a friend’s house or whatever and go spend the weekend at Gotham or hang out with Kaldur, I dunno. She… She’s not allowed to leave Central very often… I just want what’s best for her… So, can you both please try and befriend her? And try not to mention her blatant lack of normal teenage behavior?”

“She seems to be a somewhat normal teenage girl to me,” Kaldur said.

“Trust me, she’s not. She’s… different.” Roy glanced at their faces, noting their confused looks. “You’ll see what I mean. We’re going to the Flash museum after she gets back. Feel free to ask her questions about herself or the Flash on our way. She knows more than the museum does.”

“Sure thing.” Wally came trudging back over, a pout still set on her lips. She refused to make eye contact with Kaldur and Robin, focusing instead on Roy.

“Can we go now? The baristas are staring…” she said quietly. Robin turned his head to look, but was stopped by Wally’s voice. “Don’t look, Rob. That’ll make them more suspicious.”

“Yeah, we can head out. C’mon, let’s get a move on.” Roy got to his feet, leading the trio of sidekicks out of Jitters and down the street. Wally found herself stuck in between Kaldur and Robin, frowning and speeding up her pace so she had some room.

“So, Wally,” Robin said, respecting her need for space for now. “What do you like so much about the Flash?”

As if a switch had been flipped, Wally perked up and immediately started talking about the Flash. Roy glanced back at Robin, nodding approvingly for him asking just the right question to get her going. She smiled as she talked, slowing her pace ever so slightly to place herself back in between the two boys.

“And he’s so super cool and, like, have you seen how fast - Oops, sorry Kaldur,” Wally said, pausing briefly in her ramblings to apologize for accidentally hitting Kaldur.

“It is quite alright. It didn’t hurt.”

“Cool! So, anyway, where was I?”

“Have you seen how fast he can run,” Robin said, having been attentive the entire time she was talking.

“Right, so, I’ve actually been doing some calculations on how fast he can actually run. Like, peak speed. I haven’t come to a conclusive number yet, though. There’s so many factors, like he can travel through time! Can you believe?! It’s amazing and - Hey, Kaldur, are those tattoos?” Kaldur smiled, pulling his sleeves up a bit to show her.

“Yes. They are imbued with magic and I am able to control water at will with these. I am a bit surprised you were able to spot them.”

“I have great observational skills. So… how do they work? I mean, magic isn’t very scientific.” Robin chuckled and smirked, nudging her a bit.

“That’s not very nice.”

“No, she is not quite wrong. For my case, at least. The ink they use for these tattoos use a special pigment that brings out the natural ability of the Atlantean. Magic just seems to be the simplest and best answer for most. Would you like to hear about the technology in Atlantis?”

“Yes! Tell me everything!” Kaldur chuckled and smiled more, gladly beginning to talk about Atlantis. Wally interjected a few times with questions, though Robin found it odd that she wasn’t taking any notes. He noticed Roy gesturing for him to come stand next to him, gladly doing so.

“She’s going to remember everything he says. If you were wondering. I know how you detective types are.”

“How does she do it? There’s no way she just remembers all of this information.”

“Oh, sure, she’ll write it down when she gets home later, but she’s storing it in her mind until she can release it into a notebook. She’s taking notes on you, too. Don’t think she hasn’t noticed you watching her every move and facial expression. What’re you looking for in her?” Robin frowned a bit, glancing back at her. Wally glanced back at him for just a moment before turning her attention back to Kaldur. She was obviously trying to decipher what they were talking about and if it was about her.

“Answers, mostly. She relaxed when I asked about the Flash, but… did she finally realize Kaldur and I weren’t threats? She hasn’t given you a second glance since she finally started talking to us.”

“Most likely. You won’t get any concrete answers just from observing her, though. She’ll either tell you when she’s ready and away from Central City, or you’ll have to corner her like I did. The latter takes a lot of trust on both sides, so I wouldn’t try that out just yet. Oh, and you better be ready for more rambling from her. We’re here,” Roy said as they finally arrived at the Flash museum. “Hm… Well, this is a surprise. Walls, look who it is!”

“One sec, Kaldur…” Wally said, Kaldur nodding and pausing their conversation. She looked over to where Roy was pointing, grinning widely at who was waiting by the entrance of the museum. “Uncle Barry!!!” She ran forward, laughing as she practically flew into his arms.

“Hey, kiddo! Iris told me you have friends in town, so I thought I’d drop by and be your tour buddy for the museum. Is that them over there?” Wally nodded, waving them over excitedly and practically vibrating with excitement. “Nice to see you again, Roy.”

“Same here, Barry. Can’t leave my favorite red-head hanging, after all. These are the friends I’m forcing Wally to socialize with.” Robin stepped forward, holding out his hand.

“Robin. Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you and the work you’ve done with STAR Labs.” Barry smiled, shaking his hand.

“And I’ve heard about you, as well. Protege of the World’s Greatest Detective. That’s no small feat,” he said, leaning in close and speaking quietly. “Wally also wouldn’t stop talking about you after her trip to Gotham.”

“Uncle Barry, stop!!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll stop for now. Who’s your other friend?”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Barry Allen. My name is Kaldur’ahm, but you may call me Kaldur.”

“Good to meet you, Kaldur! I don’t think I’ve seen you around before…”

“This is my first time being around other sidekicks. It has been quite the experience.” Barry smiled and nodded, shaking his hand briefly before looking around at all the other sidekicks.

“Well, since the whole party is here, why don’t we get that tour started? Wally, if you please,” he said, gesturing toward the door. She grinned, hurrying over to the door and waving everyone over.

“Hurry up! There’s a lot to see and Rob has to be back before nightfall!”

“Ah, geez, we’ve really got her going now… Hey, you two go on ahead with her. I gotta talk with Barry for a sec,” Roy said, smiling when Kaldur and Robin agreed and hurried to catch up with Wally. Once the kids were gone, he turned to Barry. “Did Iris tell you why I’m doing this?”

“Only a bit. All she said is that you were trying to broaden Wally’s circle of friends.” Roy nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Why are you really doing this? You’ve never been interested in trying to socialize her before.”

“...I just want to give her a chance to get out of the city more often. Giving her friends that don’t live a train ride away will help her get away,” Roy said, putting a bit more emphasis on having her out of the city. “Even though I live so close, I can’t get her far enough away, y’know? Besides, she needs friends closer to her age than me.” Barry took in his words, observing his body language and the emphasis on certain phrases, the slight changes in his facial expressions and the way he spoke as if he was avoiding a certain topic while also trying to talk about it.

“Well, it’ll be good for her to have other friends. I’ll have a talk with Iris to see if she can get her permission to sleep over Robin’s place or something!” Barry said, putting on a smile.  _ I’ll do my best to get her away from her parents. _

“Much appreciated. C’mon, let’s catch up to her before she talks their ears off about some minor detail about the Flash.” Barry chuckled and nodded, heading inside with Roy.

“Hey, Roy?”

“Hm?”

“I appreciate what you’re doing for Wally, but a word of warning,” he said, lowering his voice and wrapping an arm around Roy’s shoulders. “Be careful that her parents don’t catch on to your attempts to get her out of the city. There could be dire consequences if you’re caught. And I don’t mean for you.”


	4. I Can't Save Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, two chapters in two days.  
> I flowed right from chapter three and into this one, so it got banged out pretty quick story-wise.  
> I already knew how I wanted it to end and how I wanted it to begin, so enjoy!

Three sidekicks were gathered at a rendezvous point, awaiting orders for a mission. Their first mission together. Or it would be if they weren’t missing a member of their little group. It had been quite a bit of time since the meeting was supposed to start, and they were missing a pair of speedsters.

“For the fastest people alive, they sure are late…” Robin muttered, arms crossed impatiently. “We’re burning moonlight.”

“It’s not unusual that they’re late. The Flash is very popular with the media, after all,” Batman said. “They should be arriving any second.” As if on cue, a red streak zipped over to the small group, although he was alone. “Flash. Where’s your protege?”

“Um…” Barry rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, looking a bit uncomfortable. “She’s… uh… Just give her a couple more minutes, okay? She just got caught up in something, but she’ll be right over. I promise.”

“...” Roy frowned, looking toward the direction Barry had just come from. It seemed like an eternity before a yellow streak appeared, coming to a stop beside Barry. Wally wouldn’t look at any of her friends, a fresh bruise on her jaw and dried blood under her nose. Barry nudged her, gesturing to his own face to let her know. She turned away, quickly scrubbing away the blood before turning back around.

“...Sorry, I had a bloody nose that I had to stop before I could come…” she mumbled, clearly using the bloody nose as an excuse for being late. Kaldur gave a smile, attempting to cut through the heavy tension in the air.

“I am glad you could join us today, my friend. We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.” Wally pouted, the thought of making everyone wait seeming to make her feel worse than before. Robin took notice right away, elbowing Kaldur in the ribs.

“Not too long though, KF. Everyone knows the main character arrives fashionably late for dramatic effect!”

“Enough talk. We need to get you four deployed now,” Batman said. “Your mission is reconnaissance only. There have been reports that Lex Luthor is up to no good. You’ll all be infiltrating his company and gaining as much information as possible. At the end of the week, you’ll all report back to me with whatever you managed to get. Is that understood?” There was a mutter of agreement between three of the sidekicks, though a hushed argument was happening with the fourth.

“A week?! You told me this would be quick!  _ I  _ told them this would be a quick trip!” Wally hissed, glaring at Barry.

“Kid, I didn’t know-”

“You didn’t know I’d be going on a week-long reconnaissance trip?! What’re you going to tell them when I don’t come home tomorrow morning?”

“I’ll make something up. Iris and I will make sure you’re okay!”

“Is there a problem over there?” Batman asked, clearly unimpressed with the quiet argument. Wally looked like she was going to say something, but Barry beat her to it.

“No! No, of course not! Right, kid?”

“...Right,” she hissed through gritted teeth, stomping over to her friends. “Let’s just go…”

Roy watched her grumble angrily to herself and reject any attempts to calm down from Kaldur. Though, the more he looked at her, the more he could see the fear in her eyes, the way her lips were pressed in a thin line. The way she was trembling ever so slightly. She was going to be in deep shit once this mission was over. All she could do was try to mentally prepare herself for it.

“You will all leave immediately. Superman will supply you with the disguises and backgrounds I have given him for all of you. There’s a nearby Zeta tube you can use since not everyone has super speed. Remember, this is reconnaissance only. Do not engage Luthor or any of his forces. Speedy, as the oldest and most experienced, you’re in charge.”

“You can count on me. I’ll keep the kids in line.”

“Good. Get a move on. We’ve wasted too much time already.” Roy nodded, starting to leave with his squad. “Kid Flash. A word before you go.” She pouted, but obliged, staying behind as the others left without her. “Are you going to be fit for this mission? You seem… agitated.”

“I’m fine. I just wish I knew how long this was going to take beforehand…” she grumbled, keeping a defensive posture. “I told my parents I was sleeping over at Roy’s place and I’d be back by morning. Now Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry have to lie about where I am… Not like they’ll listen to anything Uncle Barry says…”

“...Why haven’t you told them about this?”

“You really think two people who keep their child confined to one city would be okay with… with this?!” she said loudly, gesturing to herself. “It’s bad enough they’re suspicious of how much time I spend with Uncle Barry and Roy! They can’t find out about this!”

“Wally, they’re going to find out eventually. You can’t hide this forever.”

“If you want to tell them, be my guest. Just do it when I’m not around.” Fed up with the conversation, she ran off to catch up with her team.

“She’s the only one I can’t save, Bruce…” Barry said, looking lost. “I can only hope her new friends can save her when we can’t.”

“Hey, KF. What did Batman want with you?” Robin asked once she arrived in Metropolis. She huffed, ducking behind a changing screen to switch into her disguise.

“Nothing. Don’t ask me about it. It doesn’t matter.”

“That doesn’t- Ow!” Robin glared at Roy, rubbing his side where Roy had just hit him. He was shot a warning look to shut up before he said something stupid.

“How’s your bruise, Walls? It looks like it’s healed,” Roy said once she stepped out, effortlessly changing the subject. She brought a hand up to poke at her jaw, giving a little wince.

“I think the bone is bruised. It’ll take a little longer to heal, but it should be fine by tomorrow. As long as no other trauma is applied to the same spot. Though, that could risk a fracture and that’ll take forever to heal and no one wants that, especially me. Been there, done that. It sucks and-”

“You’re rambling about medical stuff again.”

“Right, sorry. Yes, it is mostly healed. Thank you. So, what’s my role in all of this?”

“So glad you asked, my little red-headed compatriot!” Roy said, smiling widely and handing her a folder. “You are going to live out your dream of being a science nerd. A computer science nerd, but science nonetheless.”

“So… no kabooms?”

“Please refrain from the kabooms.”

“Aw… okay… Ooh, looking good, Kaldur!” she said, smiling slightly. “A suit is a good look for you! And, Rob! You-” She stopped, taking in how Robin looked. “...You look like someone I met… But that can’t be… Unless…”

“Is something wrong, Kid?” Kaldur asked, adjusting his suit jacket. She shook her head and gave a small smile.

“Nope! Just a little confused, is all! I think Rob has one of those faces, y’know? Anyway, are we ready to go?”

“Yep! Everything’s all good to go. Oh, and if you do happen to get caught, come back to this safehouse and wait for the rest of us. Not that I think that’ll happen. Just go up to the front desk, tell them your fake name and they’ll direct you to wherever you’re supposed to be working. Let’s go, kids!” Roy led the way into the building, each sidekick getting separated into different parts of the building. All except Robin and Wally.

“Apparently, I’m going to be in the room right next to yours. If you run into any trouble, make some kind of excuse to come see me, alright?” Wally nodded, glancing over at him.

“Yeah, sure. Hey, isn’t it weird that Lex Luthor agreed to bring on a bunch of kids to work here? Like, that’s weird, right? It’s not just me?”

“No, it’s pretty weird and a little suspicious. Just don’t raise awareness about yourself and we should be fine, though. Good luck.”

“You too.” She ducked into the room she was supposed to be in, finding her computer and taking a seat. Using the log-in she was given, she quickly managed to get in and start working. The days seemed to go by quickly as she carefully pulled information out of workers and the computers with no sign that Luthor had figured out they were there. Until a message popped up in a chat. From Lex Luthor. It was only two messages, but it sent a chill down her spine.

_ I know who you are, Miss West. _

_ Meet me in my office. _

And who was she to say no? She swallowed and logged off her computer, making her way up to Luthor’s office at the top of the building. As she stepped off the elevator, she noticed that she was the only one called there. Did he not know about the others that also infiltrated the building?

“Ah, Miss Wally West. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Do you know why I called you up here?”

“...No, I don’t, Mr. Luthor.” He raised a brow, a smirk present on his face. Wally kept a neutral expression, not letting her fear show through. She had years of experience, after all. Fear was weakness and weakness just got you hurt more.

“Interesting. Let me ask you another question, Miss West. What could a young girl like you possibly be doing sneaking into my building and pretending to be a worker?”

“Why did you let me come in with a fake name and background if you knew I was a child?” she retorted. “Why did you feel the need to let me in?”

“You’re bold. I like that. I allowed you to come into my building out of curiosity for what you wanted here. After all, it’s highly unusual for a single sidekick to try and gain information about what I’m up to.” A single sidekick, huh? So he was only aware of her. Well, she supposed she was the least lowkey one out of the group. Better he only knew of her and not everyone else. “What are you hoping to find?”

“I dunno. Is there something you don’t want anyone to know?”

“Everyone has their secrets, Miss West. I’m sure you know that very well, don’t you?”

“Are you trying to imply something?”

“Not at all. I’ll make a deal with you, Miss West.” She narrowed her eyes a bit, but otherwise stayed neutral.

“I’m listening, Mr. Luthor.”

“I’ll let you walk out of here with no consequences and without letting your mentor know what you’ve been up to. In return, I expect you to give back all the information you’ve been taking over the course of the past few days. Do we have a deal?” He held his hand out to her, Wally regarding it carefully before shaking it.

“Deal. But before I go, can I ask you one last question, Mr. Luthor?”

“Of course. Ask away.” The two stared each other down for a few moments, tension thick in the air before it broke with a smile from Wally.

“Are you going to be making another donation to STAR Labs this year, Mr. Luthor? We really appreciated the one you made last year!” He blinked at her sudden change in demeanor, but didn’t comment, instead offering a small smile.

“Of course. Seeing young people like you so interested in science brings joy to my life. Now, off you go, Miss West. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of scientific breakthroughs you come up with.” She smiled and nodded, turning and heading back to the elevator. Once she was out of the building, she made her way to the safehouse, although she took a complicated route. There was no way she trusted Luthor enough to not have her followed. She ducked into a dark alleyway, using the darkness as a cover to activate her speed and run back to the safehouse.

“Whew…” she sighed, sitting on one of the couches and waiting patiently for the rest of the team to show up. She quickly changed out of the stuffy business outfit Roy had given her, pulling out her phone to play a few games. She contemplated calling Barry and letting him know she got busted by Luthor during their mission, but thought better of it. He’d probably tell her what her parents had in store for her when she returned. She’d just… spend the 24 hours hiding out here until Roy and the others were done.

Yeah…

That sounded like a good plan.

“Hm… It seems that I am the first to return…” Kaldur said as he stepped into the safehouse, taking off his suit jacket. As he passed by one of the couches, Wally shot up, grinning at him.

“Kaldur!” He screamed in fright, falling to the ground. “That’s an overreaction if I ever saw one. You okay?”

“How long have you been here?”

“About 24 hours, why?” He got to his feet, brushing off his clothes.

“Why were you here before any of us?” She shrugged, laying back down.

“Luthor knew I was there from the beginning. But only me. He didn’t know about you guys. So he told me to leave.”

“Were you followed?”

“Nope! I made sure of that! I didn’t even know if he actually had someone following me, but I took measures to make sure that if I was followed they’d never find this place. Where’s Roy and Rob?”

“On their way. Did you manage to save any of the information you found?” She smiled and tapped the top of her head.

“I had to give Luthor the flash drive Roy had given me, but all the info we need is stored right up here. The flash drive was empty, anyway. Both Roy and Batman knew I wouldn’t use it. It was mainly for show and I already checked it for any important data that Luthor can’t have. What about you? Find anything good?”

“I did find some things, but I am not sure how useful it will be in the long run. I am sure Batman will determine that once we return.”

“You two really need to slow down,” came Roy’s voice from nearby.

“No can do, my red-headed bro. It is scientifically impossible for me to slow down. In fact, Caitlin has a theory that I will only get faster as I get older.”

“Ah, then how will I ever catch up to you? You’ll be too fast and we won’t be able to hang out.”

“Yeah, right. Like you’d ever stop trying to come see me. You love me too much.” Roy snorted and smirked.

“Yeah, and if you were left to your own devices, you might blow up your garage again.” Wally pouted at him.

“That was one time and I am no longer allowed to have science in the house unless it’s homework. They can’t ban homework from the home.”

“Fair point, my dear adopted-but-not-really sister. Get your costume on. We’re leaving as soon as Robin gets back,” Roy said, nudging her as he walked past her.

“Bold of you to assume I’m not already wearing it under my clothes,” she said with a smirk, pulling off her sweatshirt to reveal she had been wearing her costume this entire time. “When’s he getting back? The sooner I get home, the better.”

“I’m already here.” Wally turned to look, raising a brow. “What?”

“How long have you been lurking in the shadows?”

“Since a little after you got here.”

“That’s creepy. Let’s go home.” She stretched her arms above her head, letting out a yawn.

“Alright, children, let’s get going. Our mentors should be waiting at the rendezvous point,” Roy said, leading the way back to the Zeta tube.

“Welcome back. Were you successful?” was the greeting they received from Batman. Roy nodded, handing over the flash drives he had collected from the other sidekicks. “Why are there only three?”

“I didn’t need it. Besides, I got busted by Luthor and all he got out of it was an empty flash drive.”

“I see. Did you write down whatever you learned?”

“Yep!” She smiled, pulling out a notebook and handing it to Batman. A glance at the cover revealed she had written “Info for the Bat” on it in permanent marker. “It’s all in there with some other stuff I thought you might wanna know. I was very thorough, so sorry in advance if my notes seem wordy and kinda rambling.” Batman nodded, pocketing the notebook.

“Thank you, Kid Flash. You know I value any information you have managed to retrieve.” She beamed, basking in the praise for the moment before “You should head back home. I’ll have Speedy message you the important information during the post-mission debrief.”

“Wha-! B-But, I…! I want to stay! I never get to listen to the post-mission debriefs! Why doesn’t anyone let me stay?!” she protested. Batman opened his mouth to reply, but she interrupted. “And don’t tell me I’m too young! Kaldur’s only a few months older than me and Robin is definitely younger than me! Let me stay!”

“The reason you do not get to stay after a mission is because you need to go home immediately,” Batman said firmly. “So, go home. Now.” Wally glared at him, frustrated tears forming in her eyes.

“Well…” she started to say. “Well, maybe I don’t want to go home! Ever thought of that?!”

“Then you are delaying the inevitable and potentially making things worse.”

“You think I don’t know that?! You really think I don’t know what’s waiting for me at home?!”

“I know that you know. Which is why I am trying to have you lessen the repercussions by going home now. I’m not taking no for an answer, Wally.” She let out a shout in frustration, stomping her foot. “You’re acting like a child.”

“I am a child!” she screeched. “But fine! I can tell when I’m not wanted. I’m leaving.”

“Wally, wait!” Roy said, grabbing her arm. “Let me take you home.”

“You’ll just make things worse. It’s better if I do this alone.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Walls.”

“I know what I’m doing! I may be a child, but I’m not stupid and you know it.” She huffed and yanked her arm from his grasp, running off before he could protest. She came to a stop just outside her house, pouting as she took a step towards the front door.

“What the hell do you think you’re wearing?” She let out a breath, turning around to face her father. “You disappear from home for a week and come back dressed like you’re some kind of fucking hero?”

“...I have super speed. So of course I’m a hero…” she mumbled, not looking him in the eye.

“...Get inside. We’re going to have a long talk.”


	5. Anything For You

“Barry, let me see Wally. I know she’s in there,” Roy said, trying to get past him and into STAR Labs. “Barry!”

“Roy, she’s not here. Who told you she was here anyway?”

“Where else would she be hiding?! I checked the museums, I checked Jitters, I even checked with Iris and this is the last place she could possibly be! Let me see her!” A hand came down, striking Roy across the face.

“Roy, calm down and listen to what I’m about to tell you. And you cannot freak out about anything that is about to come out of my mouth. Do you understand?” Roy nodded, gently touching where he had been hit and looking stunned. “Good. Wally isn’t here. No one has seen her or heard from her since she came home from that last mission in Metropolis. She’s trapped in her own home and most likely in danger.”

“So, we need to-”

“No, we need a better plan than just storming in to rescue her. I’ve already employed the help of a few other heroes to think of something,  _ anything _ , to get her out and to safety. I had… been meaning to call you here anyway. I’m surprised Ollie didn’t bring you with him, but…”

“He knew how I’d react to something like this. I want in on the mission. Whatever it ends up being. She needs me now more than ever.”

“I know. That’s why I was going to call you here. Come in. Everyone’s waiting down in the lab.” Roy nodded, following him into STAR Labs.

“Hey, you finally found him,” came a young-sounding voice. “Can’t go rescuing one of our own without the entire sidekick squad, right?” Robin said, stepping out of the shadows. “Maybe you can give us some insight. Like, for example, which window leads to Wally’s room? Because none of us know.”

“What Robin is trying to say,” Batman cut in, bringing up a 3D hologram model of Wally’s house. “You are the only person we believe has been close enough to the West family home that could pinpoint which room is Wally’s.”

“Uh, sure. It’s right here, up front,” Roy said, pointing at the top left window of the house. “I’ve never been inside, though. I’ve only seen glimpses of her room when I drop things off at her window sill. While her parents were asleep.”

“Have you ever attempted to go inside with her?”

“No, but I could try. Unless they’re suspicious of me because of how much time I spend with her. I honestly can’t tell since she…” Roy trailed off as a revelation came to him. “She was actively avoiding having me see her parents. I… don’t even know what they look like. She didn’t want them to know what I looked like.”

“She was trying to protect you. She was looking out for you without you even knowing,” Barry said. “But why is she being so reckless with her own well-being?”

“...I already know why,” Roy said quietly. “She has such a kind heart and the right need to help others, but… but sometimes she…”

“Sometimes she follows her heart more than her head…” Robin finished with a frown. “A mentality like that is a double edged sword.”

“Which is why we’re working on getting her out before any more harm comes to her,” Batman said. “Using Roy, we may be able to get Barry enough time to get the police to her location. Robin and Kaldur will provide back-up, but what you do to get yourself into the house is up to you.”

“And if I can’t get in?”

“Then you continue to distract them until the police arrive. Barry will be mobilizing soon, but you’ll have plenty of time to come up with a plan. Robin, Kaldur, he will be your leader for this mission. Listen carefully to his plan and follow his orders. Especially you, Robin.”

“Right, so I have a… semblance of a plan. If either of you have any ideas that could make it a real plan, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

“What do you have in mind, my friend?” Kaldur asked.

“I’m going to go right up to the front door and play the concerned friend card. Hopefully, they’ll let me in, but if not… Well, I’ll figure something out. Kaldur will be concerned friend number two!”

“And what about me? Am I going to be number three?”

“Nope,” Roy said with a smirk. “You have a much more important job. One more suited to your skill set.” Robin raised a brow, matching Roy’s smirk.

“I’m listening.”

“Who the hell are you two?” Rudy said, looking Kaldur and Roy up and down disdainfully. Roy smiled and raised a hand in greeting.

“Hello, Mr. West! My name’s Roy Harper and this is Kaldur. We’re friends of Wally and we’ve just been a little worried. She hasn’t called us or anything and neither of us has seen her in a while. May we come in?”

Robin smirked as he watched Roy and Kaldur try and smooth talk their way into the house. He made sure no one would be looking his way before hopping over to the window sill Roy had designated as Wally’s, frowning at the curtains blocking his view of the inside. He tried to open the window, sighing when it was locked from the inside. He glanced back down at his two teammates, noticing Kaldur glancing back at him. He gestured for them to keep going before pulling out a few tools to pick lock the window.

Robin let out a breath once he finally managed to unlock it, quietly sliding the window open and slipping inside undetected. Pushing the curtains aside, he closed the window softly and stepped further into the room. It was pink and garish and definitely not the type of room he thought Wally would have. He had expected to see Justice League memorabilia everywhere and science equipment on the desk. But no. This looked like a stereotypical girl’s room. With no girl inside.

He peeked under her bed, trying to find any sign of Wally here. Instead, he found a horde of notebooks tucked under the bed and sorted into piles. He couldn’t tell what kind of filing system it was, but he figured Wally knew how she liked her things hidden. A thump from inside the closet caught his attention, Robin getting to his feet and walking over to it. So that’s where she was hiding. Cautiously, he opened the closet door, prepared to move out of the way if she attacked.

But she didn’t.

“...Wally?” he said softly, staring wide-eyed down at the cowering redhead. She was curled up in a ball in the back of her closet, arms over her head and body trembling. The closet looked bare aside from a few outfits mostly shielding her from view. And right beside her was a pile of yellow and red fabric, a pair of goggles resting neatly on top of it. Her hero costume was in pieces. Just like her.

“...” She said nothing in reply, didn’t move. Didn’t stop cowering. In fact, her trembling increased at the sound of his voice. He frowned worriedly, sitting on the floor in front of the doorway and watching her carefully. He spotted a notebook on the floor. Right in the middle of the two of them.

“...I’m going to read that notebook. Okay, Wally?” he said, keeping his voice low so as not to alert anyone to his presence. The only person inside the house who needed to know about him was already in front of him. She still didn’t respond, but made no move to stop him as he reached for the notebook.

There was no title on the front. A bit odd, but he didn’t think much of it. Opening it to the first page, he began to read.

_ Day One: Lockdown Implemented _

Was this some kind of diary or something? The wording made it seem too… scientific for something like that.

_ Prisoner  _ _ Patient Status: Severely Injured, Stable Condition _

_ Injuries Sustained: Severe Bruising on Torso, Lacerations on Arms and Legs, Head Wound, Unknown Condition of Ribs _

_ Edit: Ribs are not broken _

Below the list of injuries and on the next couple of pages polaroid photos were taped onto the pages.

_ Parental figures are understandably upset about recent events. Did not take too kindly to news of patient having powers and being a sidekick. As a result, patient has been locked in her room until further notice. _

_ Contact with outside world is prohibited. _

_ Contact with Iris West-Allen and Barry Allen is prohibited. _

_ Individuality of patient is prohibited. _

“Damn, you’re parents really treat you like this, huh?” He flipped through each of the entries, noting the shortening length and lack of photos the more time passed. He soon came to the final entry, only two short sentences written.

_ There is no hope. _

_ I have given up. _

“...Shit. We’re gonna get you out of here, Wally. Roy and Kaldur are outside now and… and everyone else is working on getting the police here. My job is to sit here with you and make sure nothing else happens to you.” No response. “...It might be a while until help comes. Would you like to show me all your notebooks? I bet you have really interesting stuff in them.”

“...” Wally made a small whining sound, but didn’t move from her spot in the closet.

“Okay… Do you mind if I look through them myself? Actually, nevermind. I’ll just… take your silence as a yes. But I’ll try to avoid any personal information.” He shifted away from the closet, turning to the bed and pulling a stack of notebooks out from under it. “Huh… This is a lot of notebooks just on Batman specifically… You really do a lot of research, don’t you?”

He opened the one on top, starting to read through all the notes she took. It was incredibly detailed and was focused on Batman and his villains. She even had theories on who the Joker really was, but none of them seemed to pan out completely. If he hadn’t already known she wasn’t allowed to leave the city, he would’ve thought she had somehow managed to sneak into the Batcave and steal all this information straight from Batman’s files.

“This is incredible… You even have information that we don’t have on his rogues gallery…” he muttered, turning to look at the closet. “When you’re feeling up to it, you should really consider letting the League have a look at these.” Without waiting for any kind of response, he turned back to the notebooks. “You know, I called you weird when I first met you officially, but you’re pretty cool. Really intelligent, too. If we were to be partnered up, imagine all the information we could gather together. That would be fun, right? You, me, Kaldur and Roy. Our own squad. Us against the world.”

There was shouting from downstairs, Wally attempting to tuck herself further into her closet and away from any harm. Robin quickly shoved the notebooks back under the bed, getting to his feet and standing in the way of the closet. He couldn’t make out the voices that were shouting, but he was prepared to defend Wally if her parents were to come up here.

“I’ve got your back, KF. You just try and relax. I’m not afraid to take down your parents. I’m here to protect you, no matter what happens today.”

Footsteps were heard storming up the stairs, though it sounded like more than just her parents. Too many sounds. Too many sets of footsteps. Robin didn’t relax his stance, still primed and ready to fight whoever came through that door. The footsteps came closer, the door to the bedroom starting to creak open. Robin steeled his nerves, raising his fists.

“Robin!” Robin let out a shout, throwing a punch blindly in surprise. His fist was caught easily, the voice speaking up again. “Hey, hey. Relax. It’s me.” He blinked, finally looking to see who had stormed into the room.

“Barry? Does that mean…?” Barry nodded, releasing his hand. “She’s in the closet. And all of her notebooks are under her bed. I found one in the closet, as well. Here… You need to read it.” He handed the unnamed notebook to Barry, watching him flip through it.

“...We don’t have time to look through all of her notes. Grab Roy and Kaldur and have them help you carry each and every one of them to the police station. We’ll all look through them there. Together.” Robin nodded, hurrying over to the window and opening it, spotting Roy and Kaldur still outside.

“Hey!” They looked up, seeing Robin waving at them. “Wally’s got hella notebooks up here! Help me bring them to the police station!”

“Hey, kiddo… It’s your Uncle Barry…” Barry said softly, kneeling just outside the closet. Just as with Robin, she offered no response. However, she lowered her arms. Her face was carefully blank and emotionless, bruises both fresh and old littering her exposed skin.

And the red hair she adored so much - the one thing she had been thankful to receive from her parents - had been chopped off messily. As if whoever had done it didn’t care what she looked like once the deed was done.

She wouldn’t make eye contact, keeping her gaze set on the tattered remains of her costume. Barry swallowed his worry, putting on a small smile to try and ease her.

“I’m here to save you, Wally. Come on, let’s get you out of here and somewhere safe. Iris is waiting for you just outside. C’mere…” He reached into the closet, carefully pulling her into his arms. She didn’t struggle, but didn’t go limp either. “Let’s get you away from here, kiddo… I’ve got you…”

As Barry carried Wally out of the house, Robin worked on grabbing as many notebooks as he could, stuffing them into the bags the police had provided him. Kaldur and Roy did the same, searching the rest of the room for any more. Robin noticed the goggles still sitting in the closet, snatching them up and shoving them in his hoodie pocket for safekeeping.

“Is that everything?” he asked, looking to his two teammates.

“Looks like it. If the police find anything else she’s hidden in here, Barry will get his hands on it one way or another. Or they may just return it to Wally directly. Let’s get out of here and down to the station,” Roy said, looking down at the bags in his hands. “We have a lot to go through.”

“Then let us get started,” Kaldur said.

The trio dropped off their bags at the police station, situating themselves in Barry’s lab to start looking through each and every notebook they had collected. Roy sighed as he flipped through notebooks and information. They were so information-heavy… He couldn’t imagine what went through Wally’s head at any given moment. And these ones about the injuries she would get from her parents… they were written as if from some kind of outside point of view. As if she was observing herself through someone else’s eyes.

It was… concerning…

On the other hand, this one… this one was fairly new. It had his name on it, but… the rest of the title looked recently added.

_ “Roy and Other Friends!!” _

He gave a small smile at just the title of the notebook. She was such a dork sometimes…

Skipping over all the entries about himself, he found the newer entries and began reading.

_ Robin (Real Name Unknown) _

_ Met in Gotham City while on a business trip with Aunt Iris. He seems nice enough, I suppose! He talked with me until he got busted for not patrolling. _

_ Update: Roy knows Robin! Exciting! He said he’s going to introduce me to him and another sidekick. I dunno how he’s gonna swing that, but I’m kinda excited to meet them! _

_ New Entry: I got to meet Robin and another sidekick today! His name is Kaldur’ahm, but he asked me to call him Kaldur. We’re now Weird Name Buddies! Robin, now dubbed “Rob” for ease of reference, is not invited until I find out his real name! _

Roy smiled a bit more, huffing a laugh at how much of a weirdo she was. Despite this notebook in particular being more casual than the others, there was still a scientific undertone to it.

_ New Entry: I have a theory about who Rob really is. And, honestly, I don’t like it since it’s probably true. My theory is that Robin is Dick Grayson. Eugh. (See entry in Weird and Strange Happenings for further details about Grayson) _

“Huh… That’s interesting…”

“What’d you find?” Robin asked from across the room.

“She’s got a notebook on the three of us. But it looks like you two are recent additions to it. About half of it is just about me.”

“That’s very interesting. Where are we putting the weird medical notebooks?” Roy pointed to a pile beside him, going back to the notebook in his hands.

_ Kaldur’ahm (Kaldur, Aqualad) _

_ Kaldur seems nice. He willingly listened to me ramble on about the Flash and he told me all about Atlantean technology! So cool! He also told me about his tattoos and how the ink used for them gives him the ability to tap into his inherent control of water. _

_ Note: Remember to ask Kaldur to demonstrate abilities one time. For training purposes. And science purposes. _

_ Not much else to say about him. Photos of both Robin and Kaldur to follow as point of reference for their looks and overall body structures. _

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Barry said, letting out a breath as he stepped into his lab. “There was a lot of paperwork to fill out and Wally didn’t want me to leave her at the hospital and- Holy shit, that’s a lot of notebooks.”

“You’re telling us…” Roy muttered, setting down the friends notebook. “And it’s all so wordy and scientific. She needs a laptop or something…”

“I think I’m gonna have to cut down on buying her notebooks from now on… Where are you guys at in them?”

“With the work split up between the three of us, we should be finished soon,” Kaldur said. “Roy has a pile of medical notebooks that the police may want to see, however.”

“I’ll send ‘em over. And I’ll give you three a break. You go see Wally at the hospital and I’ll finish up with the notebooks. Iris is over there now, so they should let you see her.”

“Um, I actually have to head back to Gotham. I have something I need to do. You two go on ahead,” Robin said, giving a small smile.

“Suit yourself. C’mon, Kaldur.” The other two sidekicks left, leaving Robin and Barry alone.

“So, why are you really going back to Gotham?”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I had something I needed to do. I’m… going to make her a get-well-soon gift. Something to cheer her up, even if only a little. So the sooner I start on it, the sooner I’ll finish it.”

“Makes sense,” Barry said. Robin made no move to leave, hands shoved deep into his pockets. “But you still have some questions for me.”

“Just one. Does Wally have a phone? I didn’t see a charger or anything in her room when I snuck in.”

“Unfortunately, no. I was thinking of getting her one once all this blew over, but I have a feeling you have something planned.”

“You can read me like an open book, huh?”

“Sometimes. You’re still a kid and kids are always easy to read. You better get going and finish your present for her. I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“Right… I’ll be back.” With that, Robin left the police station, finding the nearest Zeta tube and taking it to Gotham.

“Master Dick, may I ask what you are doing down here all alone?” Alfred asked. “If I remember correctly, Master Bruce is still working out the situation in Central City.”

“I’m working on a get-well-soon present for Wally. Her goggles are the only thing remaining from her Kid Flash costume, so I thought I’d modify them and make them better. Also, I’m going shopping after this.”

“Ah, I see. I shall prepare the limo, then. How much longer will you be working?”

“I’m almost done. Give me another hour and then I’ll be ready to go.”

“Of course, Master Dick. The limo will be ready in an hour.” Robin nodded, working on uploading a threat detector into the goggles. He figured she would feel safer with something like this built into a part of her hero identity. Plus it would help her identify actual threats versus threats built up in her mind when she was panicking. No one wanted to be hit by accident. Especially by someone who could theoretically move their fists faster than light.

“Alfred, let’s go! I gotta hit up an electronics shop before I head back to Central!” he called as he rushed outside. “Alfred!!”

“The limo is ready, Master Dick. Which electronics store are we going to?”

“Whichever one has the best and most expensive laptops and phones,” he said, quickly climbing into the limo.

“Of course, sir. Right away.” It was a short ride to one of the many electronics stores, Robin quickly clambering out and hurrying inside. He easily found what he was looking for, heading up to the cashier.

“Hey, hello, good evening. I need this phone activated and put onto the account of Bruce Wayne. Doesn’t matter what number it is. Also I’m buying this laptop. No need for a warranty for either of these things. And can we make it quick? I have someone I need to visit after this.”

“Of course, Mr. Grayson! Right away! We’ll get this phone activated in no time.” He nodded, going through the activation process and thanking them once everything was said and done.

“Alfred, I’m going back to Central! I’ll be back later tonight! Don’t wait up!” Robin said as he ran to the nearest Zeta tube. He appeared right outside the Central City Police Department, heading inside and up to Barry’s lab. “Hey, I’m back. And I need your help transferring all of her notebooks onto this laptop before I give this to her.”

“You bought her a laptop and a phone? How much was it? I’ll pay you back,” Barry said, not looking up from his own laptop.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t expect you to pay me back or anything. This is just for Wally. Anyway, the notebooks?”

“Right, yeah, already made them digital. Here, use this flash drive. Hand me the phone and I’ll add all the important numbers into it.” Robin nodded, handing him the new phone and taking the flash drive. He inserted the flash drive into the laptop, but didn’t turn it on. Wally needed to set up her own password herself. “I see you already added your own number and Roy’s number into this. What about Kaldur?”

“I don’t think phones work in Atlantis, honestly. I’ll ask him about that, though.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Barry said, handing the phone back. “All the important numbers have been added. Just make sure she texts everyone beforehand to let them know what her number is. Visiting hours are still on at the hospital. I’ll take you over there now if you want.”

“Sure thing. Do you know if Roy and Kaldur are still over there?”

“Iris said they haven’t left her side since they arrived. Ready to go?” Barry grabbed Robin, picking him up and running over to the hospital. He set him down just outside the door, walking in with him. “Hey, we’re here to see Wally West.”

“Of course, Mr. Allen. And what is your guest’s name?”

“Robin,” Barry said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “No last name. Just Robin.” The worker nodded, signing them in and giving them nametags.

“You know where her room is, Mr. Allen. Enjoy your visit.”

“Come on, her room’s this way.” Robin nodded, following Barry down the hall. He stopped outside a room, opening the door and gesturing for him to step inside.

“Ah, Robin has finally decided to join us,” Kaldur said with a smile. Roy looked over, smiling as well.

“Hey, Walls, look who it is. And it looks like he brought you a present.” Robin put on a smile, stepping up to the bed and holding out the bag he had in his hands.

“Yeah, I got you some things. Don’t worry about paying me back for anything. I got them as gifts and I expect nothing in return.” Wally made no move to take the bag, Robin glancing at Roy.

“She hasn’t been responding, so we’ve just been… making up responses for her, I guess? I dunno.”

“Right, uh… How about I open it for you?” he offered, sitting on the edge of the bed and opening the bag. “First thing I got for you… Your goggles!” He smiled, pulling out the modified goggles and handing them to her. She took them, running her thumbs along the lenses. “You probably wondered what happened to them. I took them out of your closet and did some upgrades on them! Now they can detect heat signatures, infrared signatures and can now detect threats. Also, they’re now adjustable. I dunno why they weren’t before, but now they are!”

“That was very thoughtful of you, Robin. I am sure they will be most helpful for our next mission,” Kaldur said.

“That’s not all!” Robin said, smiling more and pulling out the laptop. “I got this for you! You just need to set up your password and everything, but it’s all yours. Also, Barry put all of your notebooks onto this flash drive! So once your laptop is all set up, you can download them and keep your records on here instead of writing them down!”

“Oh, Robin, you didn’t have to do that!” Iris said. “You went through so much trouble…”

“No, it’s no trouble. I also installed an app onto her phone where she can put her thoughts down and it’ll transfer to her laptop!”

“...Wally doesn’t have a phone,” Roy put in, crossing his arms over his chest.

“She does now. I put her on the same plan I’m on and it’s all paid for by me. Here.” He set the laptop down on her lap, reaching into the bag and pulling out the phone, handing it to her. “Barry and I uploaded everyone’s numbers into it. He told me to remind you to text everyone so they know it’s your number. If you want, I can show you how to use it. He told me you’ve never had a phone before…”

“...” Wally dropped her goggles and took the phone instead, tentatively tapping the screen a few times. Robin scooted closer, pointing out the different apps and explaining what each one did as well as showing her how to set a password for her phone. He walked her through sending a mass text to everyone in her contacts, though he mostly let her figure things out on her own. She was a fast learner and seemed to be carefully picking and choosing what she wanted to look at.

“I hope you like your gifts. They were kinda last minute thoughts, but I figured you’d appreciate them either way.” She didn’t say anything, but he didn’t mind. He could tell without words that she was enjoying her gifts. He stayed at her side along with Roy, Kaldur, Iris and Barry until the nurses kicked them all out, walking out of the hospital with the other sidekicks. “Gotta head home, I guess. Oh, hey, before you go, Kaldur. Do phones work in Atlantis?”

“Unfortunately, no. But if you were to find one that did, I would be glad to keep in touch with all of you on a more practical level.”

“I’ll be sure to look into that. See you guys later.” He waved before walking off, taking a Zeta tube back to Gotham. As he was walking back to Wayne Manor, his phone went off with a text.

**[21:45] KF:** _ Thank you. _

He smiled slightly, shooting a quick text back. 

  
**[21:45] Robin:** _ Anytime, KF. _


	6. Progress, Presents, and Surprises

“Hey, kiddo,” Barry said, leaning against the doorway to Wally’s new room. Iris and Barry had gained custody of Wally after the incident with her parents. And she was loving her new life. Granted, she was still adjusting to a life of freedom. But she was having a good time either way.

She made a small sound of acknowledgement, keeping her gaze set on her laptop. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, frantically typing away.

“Whatcha up to? You look like you’re working pretty hard.” She held up a finger, silently asking him to wait.

_ “Okay, you got all that?”  _ came Robin’s voice from her phone.  _ “I’m gonna assume you did, judging from how fast those keyboard clicks sounded. Anyway, that’s all I have right now. I’ll text you with anything else I find out, okay?” _

“Yeah, thanks…” she said, ending the call and turning her attention to Barry. “Hey. Rob was just giving me some info he had on Kaldur and Atlantis. His birthday is coming up and I wanna get him something cool.”

“That’s cool, that’s cool. Have you talked to Roy about spending the day in Starling yet?”

“Yeah, he’s picking me up soon. Aunt Iris packed me a backpack to take with me. I’ll make sure he has me back tonight.” Barry smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately. “Hey, stop. It’s messy enough.”

“You know, you don’t have a curfew with us, right? If you’re gonna spend the night, just shoot us a text and we’ll expect you back the next day. Why do you think Iris packed you a bag?” he said, chuckling softly. “We want you to stay the night. Encourage it, in fact. Just keep us in the loop.”

“...You’re sure it’s okay? I mean…”

“Yes, I’m sure. Go be a normal kid for once in your life. You deserve it.” She gave a small smile, packing her laptop into the backpack Iris had packed for her. The doorbell rang downstairs, Barry smiling widely. “Must be for you. Go ahead and have fun with Roy. And when you get back, I’ll have a few surprises for you.”

“Good surprises or bad surprises?”

“That’s not a question you should be asking, but if you must know, they’re good surprises. Now get going.” Wally nodded and got to her feet, Barry giving her a kiss on the top of her head. She blinked, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“You guys do that a lot…” she mumbled, sounding a bit confused. She shook it off, smiling again and heading to the door. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow!” With that, she hurried downstairs, answering the door.

“Well, look at you with that smile, speed racer,” Roy teased. “Been a hot minute since I saw a smile like that on your face. Wonder what’s got you so happy.”

“Dunno. Sure is a mystery, huh?”

“And the teasing is back, too? When will it end?” She grinned and giggled, Roy smiling and wrapping his arm around her. “Ready to go, weirdo?”

“Yeah! Aunt Iris even gave me a backpack! Oh, do you think we could go shopping in Starling? Kaldur’s birthday is coming up and I wanna get him a present. Rob gave me some more info on him and Atlantis in general.”

“We can take a look, yeah. C’mon, Ollie’s letting us stay at his place tonight. Are you ready for your first ever sleepover?”

“Totally! You gotta teach me all about this sleepover stuff!” He chuckled softly, leading her away from the house. “So, what’s a sleepover?”

“Oh, man… You have a lot to learn, young one. Let your big brother show you the ways of being semi-normal.” She smiled, happily following him and intently listening to what he had to say. “...And Ollie is letting us buy as much pizza as we want and if we’re gonna drink, we can do it in the house.”

“Oh, Aunt Iris said I’m not allowed to drink until I’m older… She doesn’t want me to ruin my very smart brain.” He nodded sagely.

“Understandable. Well, we’ll just have all the non-alcoholic drinks we can stomach. We have some time before nighttime, so…” he said, gesturing around at Starling City. “Where to, my dear little redhead?”

“...Oh! I have an idea for a gift for Kaldur! Where’s the nearest phone store?”

“Phones don’t work underwater, Walls.”

“I know! But maybe I can modify one so it  _ does  _ work underwater! Then we can all stay in touch and he doesn’t have to be left out of the sidekick fun!”

“I love that brilliant brain of yours. C’mon, I’ll buy you the phone and you can modify it. I’ll show you the sights on the way. Ready for a first-class tour?” She nodded excitedly, grinning widely and happily following him around the city. He led her around the city, making sure she stayed close so as not to get lost. “...And, as per your request, our second to last stop is one of many phone stores in Starling, but this one is close to Ollies. After you, my lady.”

“Ooh, it’s so big on the inside… What kind of phone do you think Kaldur would like?”

“Let’s have a look around. I’m sure we’ll find something you can mess around with.”

“Good idea. You’re so smart, Roy. Oh, hey! What if we got him the same kind that I have? Rob told me that he has the same one, too! So we can all match, like friends!”

“That sounds like a good idea. Have I ever told you how smart you are? Let me see your phone so we can find the same one.” She gladly handed it over, smiling widely. “Hey, is this a new phone case? Where’d you get it?” he asked, pointing at the new Flash phone case Wally had.

“We used the 3-D printer at STAR Labs to custom make it! It’s shock-proof, life-proof and can protect my phone while I’m running! Not that I run with it a lot. I’m afraid of breaking it and I don’t wanna tell Rob that I broke the phone he gave me…”

“How considerate. Let’s find the same model and get it for Kaldur.” She grinned and nodded, following him around the store. “Here it is. Let’s get it paid for and activated so you can mess around with it and make it Atlantis-proof.”

“Will Oliver let me use some of his stuff to play with it?”

“You can ask him yourself when we get there. He’s thrilled to have you sleeping over, by the way. I’m sure he won’t mind having you play with some of his toys. Are you ready to go, Walls?”

“I’m ready to start tinkering! Let’s go! Oh, is this normal sleepover stuff? Do friends normally completely rework a phone to make it usable underwater for another friend who has no way to contact his friends on the surface?” Roy laughed, leading her out of the store.

“Oddly specific question, but no. We’re also not normal kids, so we can do non-normal things at a sleepover. Besides, reworking a phone sounds like a lot more fun than gossiping about people we know.”

“Is that what normal people do? That sounds boring. We’re gonna have a lot of fun! I have so much to tell you while we work!”

“Can’t wait to hear it. This way, don’t get lost. You can hold my hand if you want.” Wally grinned, gladly grabbing his hand. “We’re almost there.”

“Ooh, his house is so big!”

“I know. Try not to get lost, speed racer. I know how excited you get in a new place.”

“But there’s so many things to look at! Who knows what kind of secrets Oliver Queen has in his house….” Roy chuckled and opened the door for her, gesturing for her to step inside. “Woah! It’s just as big on the inside!! Oh, there’s so much I could get into! Where to start?”

“How about with greeting your host, Miss West?” She grinned and turned to look at Oliver. He smiled back, ruffling her hair affectionately. “It’s a pleasure to have you over for once, Wally. I’m guessing you two have a whole night of fun planned.”

“Redheads have the most fun! But I have a favor to ask of you,” Wally said, smiling widely.

“What’s up?”

“Kaldur’s birthday is coming up, so Roy and I bought him a phone and I need to make it work underwater! Can I use your equipment?”

“Are you sure you want to do work while you’re here? Tonight you should be having fun and relaxing,” Oliver said, looking over at Roy. “Roy, did you tell her she could?”

“Hey, if she thinks it’ll be fun, who am I to say no?” He said with a shrug. “Plus, who’s to say it won’t be fun? Walls usually has some weird ways of having fun!”

“Well… Alright. But I’ll be down there keeping an eye on everything just in case something goes wrong.” Wally grinned more, bouncing a bit in excitement.

“The more the merrier!” Oliver smiled, motioning for them to follow him. Wally happily followed him, the bag with Kaldur’s phone clutched tight in her hands.

“Welcome to the Arrow Cave, Wally,” Oliver said, Roy snorting at the name for the headquarters.

“That’s a terrible name. The Quiver sounds a little better. Where can I work?”

“I’ll take that into consideration. Pick any empty surface you’d like.” She smiled and nodded, finding a work surface and setting the bag on it, pulling out the phone. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“No, but I’m sure I can figure it out. Rob sent me some stuff about making electronics waterproof. All I need to do is figure out the right way to mess with the insides of the phone so that it permanently works underwater and on the surface as well. Can I use some of your screens while I work?” she asked, speaking quickly and concisely as she started taking apart the phone.

“Be my guest. Roy and I can help figure out how to make it work for you. Right, Roy?” Roy nodded, rolling up his sleeves and taking Wally’s backpack from her, setting it aside so it didn’t get in the way. Wally put up the work Robin had sent her onto the screens, reading over pages in seconds and mumbling to herself as she carefully found the right components to mess with.

Oliver and Roy looked through their own archives, searching for ways to make things work underwater and finding tools for Wally to use while she worked. The trio worked in relative silence with only Wally’s mumbles breaking through every now and then. Her phone went off with another message from Robin, Wally putting it up on the screen in front of her.

“...Oh, nice! Rob sent me exactly what I need! I’ll have to thank him later,” she said, though it wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. Roy smiled and shook his head fondly, glancing at the time. “The solution was so simple. I should’ve been able to figure it out myself, but I guess I wasn’t thinking of it like this…”

“Walls, you’re thinking out loud again.”

“Sorry. I’ll keep the thoughts on the inside.”

“No worries. I’m gonna order food. What do you want?” Roy asked, phone in hand.

“Where are you ordering from?” There was a small pause, and then “Actually, no. Whatever you get is fine. I’m not terribly picky about what I eat.”

“Suit yourself. But you better be done working or ready to stop by the time the food gets here.”

“But my momentum!”

“You’re not skipping meals just because you’re working. That’s a nasty habit and I’m breaking it now.” Wally let out a small child-like whine but didn’t argue further and didn’t turn away from her work. “Ollie, can you keep an eye on her while I call? Service is spotty down here…”

“Sure.” Roy nodded, heading back up to the mansion and leaving Oliver alone with Wally. “So, how’s it coming, kiddo?”

“Great, actually. I should be done before the food gets here, depending on where he’s ordering from and how long it normally takes for that specific restaurant to deliver to this location.”

“Why don’t you just speed up the work yourself?” She shook her head.

“Too risky with something I’ve never done before. With parts this small, I don’t want to break anything or lose anything and ruin Kaldur’s gift. Trust me, if I thought I could speed this up without wrecking anything, I would.” Oliver nodded, a bit impressed that she thought that far ahead in the few hours since she had the idea for the gift to begin with. “I hope Kaldur likes it.”

“I’m sure he will. Though, I think he’d appreciate any gift from you no matter how functional it was underwater.”

“Kaldur does seem like the type. But I could also tell from the last time I saw him that he’s upset that he doesn’t have any way to keep in touch with us without going through Aquaman or coming onto the surface in person. Also Rob and I feel bad that he gets left out of any conversations we have as sidekicks.”

“Speaking of Robin, what’s he getting Kaldur for his birthday?”

“Dunno. He hasn’t said and I haven’t asked. All he said was that he didn’t want in on my joint gift idea. His loss. Roy and I are calling this phone a joint gift to Kaldur.”

“But he hasn’t done any work on it.” Wally smiled, glancing over at him.

“He paid for the phone and the plan and helped me set it up for Kaldur. I’d say he’s done plenty to be included as a part of the joint gift.”

“Are you talking about me?” Roy asked as he stepped back into the room. “Better be good things.”

“All good things, Roy. All good things.”

“Great. Now wrap it up. Food’ll be here soon.”

“That’s great ‘cause I’m done! Ta-da!” Wally grinned, holding up the new and improved phone. “One brand new cellphone able to operate underwater as it would on the surface! Perfectly fit for an Atlantean sidekick!”

“...It looks exactly the same,” Roy said.

“Just because it looks the same doesn’t mean it works the same! Are you doubting my skills here, Mr. Harper?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Miss West.”

“Good. I’m hungry. What’d you order?”

“A staple in the diet of a young scientist from Central City: Big Belly Burger. I got your favorites.” Wally grinned, packing the phone back into its box and putting it back in the bag.

“Triple servings?”

“A growing girl with super metabolism needs to eat, after all. Clean up and head back upstairs. Ollie can show you the dining room. I’ll be right behind you guys.” Wally nodded, grabbing the bag with the phone and her backpack and following Oliver back up into the mansion. Roy smiled slightly, cleaning up all the tools she had used and making sure everything was in its place before following them.

“Ollie, your dining room is bigger than my house!!” Oliver chuckled, pulling out a chair for her.

“I think that’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s still huge! Way too big!” she said, taking a seat and leaning forward on the table. “Even the table is huge! My hands don’t even reach halfway across!”

“You are so fascinated by the strangest things sometimes. Now, do you want to wait until Roy comes back up to eat or start now?”

“Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry say it’s always best to wait for everyone to sit down before starting to eat. It’s only polite, after all. Plus, how else would everyone talk about how their day went without everyone being in the room together? Food brings people together!”

“I can agree with that. Mind if I pass out the food, though?” She shook her head. “Great. I’m gonna guess everything that comes in threes is yours. Am I right?”

“Large appetites run in the family, I guess!”

“The speedster family, maybe,” Roy said as he walked into the room. “I know Iris doesn’t eat that much.”

“You don’t know that.” Roy smirked and sat down, leaning his cheek into his palm.

“I think I do. I’ve been out with you and Iris for dinner before, remember?” She pouted, having no response to that. “That’s what I thought. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” She grinned widely, happily starting to eat. Despite having three times the amount of food as Oliver and Roy, Wally finished eating long before them. She leaned back in her seat, contently sipping on her drink and waiting patiently for the other two to finish their meals.

“So, Wally. How has school been? You’re entering middle school soon, right?” Oliver asked, leaning his cheek into his palm. Wally nodded, setting down her glass.

“Yeah. School’s been okay, I guess… Word got around about what happened to me and some of the other kids started talking behind my back. They think I’m even weirder than before.”

“So you haven’t made any new friends at school?” Roy asked.

“No. But it’s fine. I don’t need to be friends with people who think I’m weird in a bad way. Besides, none of them will sit there and let me talk about things  _ I  _ like. I did try to make some friends, but they only talked about things they liked and I didn’t understand. And they wouldn’t let me talk, so I stopped trying to talk to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary.”

“What counts as absolutely necessary?”

“Projects in class, mostly. Maybe team sports in gym class. But with projects and homework the other kids mostly have me do all the work or make me do their homework on top of my own. Jokes on them, though. I’ve been putting wrong answers on their homework ever since it started.”

“Sometimes I love your petty revenge schemes, Walls. Pure genius,” Roy said, smirking slightly. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask. Since you’re as smart as you are, why haven’t you skipped any grades?”

“Aunt Iris says it’s because she wants me to experience school like a normal kid. Going to college now would mess me up pretty bad. Uncle Barry was… reluctant to agree with her, but I can see where she’s coming from. Just because I don’t get along with the kids in my grade doesn’t mean it’s not mentally and emotionally healthy for me to be around them.”

“But you’re being bullied.”

“I already know it won’t escalate. They know I’m not afraid to fight back if I need to.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask what you did,” Oliver said.

“It wasn’t anything major. A few kids were bothering me while I was trying to work on a project for class so I pushed one of them back with just enough force to send him stumbling back and trip over a chair. They left me alone after that.” Roy hummed at that, leaning back in his char.

“Didn’t you also stab a kid with a pencil?”

“No. I was playing with my pencil and he came over and went to slam his hand down on my desk. His hand hit my pencil instead and he tried to blame it on me. Luckily, the teachers actually like me so I didn’t get in trouble.”

“Seems like you have an interesting time at school,” Oliver said. “Roy, would you please show Wally where she’ll be sleeping?”

“Sure thing. C’mon, speed racer. You’re gonna love your bedroom.” Roy got to his feet, motioning for Wally to follow him. She grinned, happily following him out of the room. “How do you feel about balconies?”

“I’ve never been on one! When I went to Gotham with Aunt Iris, they had the balcony doors locked due to reconstruction on them. Why? Does my room have one??”

“Naturally. And the doors are unlocked so you have free reign to go out there as much as you want. And my room is right next to yours and Ollie’s room is two doors down from mine, so if you need anything you can come to one of us. Here we are.” He stopped outside a door, opening it for her. “Your room, Miss West.”

“Woah…” Wally stepped into the room, taking in how much room there was. “It’s like… three times the size of my room back home! Oh! There’s the balcony!” She dropped her bags off on the bed, running out the balcony doors. “Wow!! I’m so high up off the ground!”

“It’s only two stories. You’ve climbed up buildings much taller than this.”

“But this is really cool! I’m actually allowed to be up here!” Roy chuckled and shook his head.

“Alright, well, I’m gonna go get changed into my pajamas. Ollie’s got a bunch of movies lined up for us on your TV so we can have a movie night before bed.”

“Sounds fun! I’ll get changed, too!” He nodded, leaving her to get changed. She grinned, leaving the balcony and quickly changing into her pajamas. She let out a breath, jumping onto the bed and laying back. “This bed is so soft…”

“Don’t fall asleep on me yet. I’ve got tons of movies to show you. Also, really? Flash pajamas?” She pouted and sat up to look at him.

“I don’t wanna hear it from the man wearing Wonder Woman pajamas.”

“Got me there. Scoot over.” She pouted more but obliged, moving over so Roy could sit next to her. “Ready for our night of redhead fun?”

“Totally!”

Hours later, in the darkness of the night, Wally sat out on her balcony. She rested her head on the edge, her arms folded underneath for support. She had been unable to go back to sleep, her mind filled with terrible thoughts and the nightmare about her parents still fresh in her memory. She didn’t realize someone had been watching her until she heard a voice behind her.

“You know, if you can’t sleep, you’re more than welcome to the food in the kitchen.” She jumped and turned around, fear in her eyes though she relaxed when she saw it was just Oliver. “If you’re anything like Barry, food and some water will help you relax and get back to sleep.”

“...Okay.”

“Come on. I’ll show you how to get to the kitchen and maybe you can tell me what you’re doing up this late.”

“Only if you tell me what  _ you’re  _ doing up this late.”

“That’s fair. The kitchen is this way.” Wally nodded, following Oliver down into the kitchen. He let her look through the fridge and all the cabinets until she settled on what she wanted to eat, sitting at the island and quietly nibbling on her snack. “So, I’m not sleeping because I struggle with mild insomnia. Me being up at this time is somewhat normal. What about you? You don’t seem like the type to stay up all night like Barry…”

“...I had a nightmare. About my parents. Been having them ever since that day but I haven’t talked to anyone about it.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to bother anyone… Everyone has enough on their plate and I don’t wanna add to it. I’ll deal with it on my own. I’m sure they’ll go away in time.” Oliver hummed and nodded, sitting across from her.

“You really shouldn’t keep this to yourself, though. I’m sure Barry and Iris can get you something to stop the nightmares.”

“That’s true, but I don’t want to bother anyone with my problems.” Oliver chuckled and reached over, ruffling her hair affectionately.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do with people who love you. You bother them with your problems and they help you solve them.”

“...I guess so,” she mumbled, pouting slightly. “Being normal is hard…”

“I hear you, kiddo. I hear you. If you want, you can watch some more movies in your room until you fall asleep. Just make sure you keep the volume down so you don’t accidentally wake up Roy.” She nodded, draining the rest of her water and heading back up to her room.

“Hey, Ollie,” Roy said the next morning. “Is Wally up yet? Usually she’s bustling around and trying to drink as much caffeine as she can.”

“She was up late last night so I’m just letting her sleep. Barry will understand. He told me to make sure she only sleeps over for just one night. She just needs to be back home before dark.”

“Well… alright. Is she okay?”

“Just some trouble sleeping. I think she finds it hard to sleep in new places, y’know?” Roy nodded, but still looked unsure. A slight breeze wafted into the kitchen, both men looking over to see Wally standing there fully dressed and ready to go.

“Good morning, speed racer. Want some breakfast before we head back to Central? Ollie makes pretty good pancakes!”

“Pancakes! Hell yeah!” Oliver chuckled softly, offering her a plate. “Thanks, Ollie!”

“No problem, kiddo. When you get back, give Barry and Iris my best.”

“I will!” She grinned, happily eating her pancakes and swinging her feet. Once she was finished, she hopped to her feet and smiled at Roy. “Ready to go!”

“Alright, let’s get you home. Follow me and stay close. You got everything?”

“Yep! Backpack and Kaldur’s gift, all right here! I’m gonna wrap it later tonight and make up a card to go with it.”

“I’ll make something up, too. C’mon, let’s get going. Barry has a surprise for you, right?”

“Yeah! I’m excited to see what it is! What do you think it is?” Roy smirked, sitting next to her on the train.

“I already know what it is. But I’m not going to tell you.”

“Aww…” He ruffled her hair, smiling softly.

“You’ll see. You’re gonna love it.” Wally pouted, but didn’t protest further. “Hey, have I told you yet that you look really good with short hair?”

“No, but you’re not the first. Aunt Iris says that short hair fits my face better and makes me look a little older. And I like it too! It took me a bit to get used to it but I really like how it looks!”

“Plus it’s gotten you to break your bad habit of tugging on your own hair when you’re nervous or thinking too hard.”

“True. And Aunt Iris keeps painting my nails so I’ll stop chewing on them. She hasn’t had the chance to redo them yet, though.” Roy nodded, taking her hand and leading her off the train once they arrived in Central.

“Have you tried painting your own nails?”

“I get too excited or agitated and mess it up fairly quickly. Plus my hands get all shaky when I do it for some reason. Until I figure it out on my own, I’m just gonna ask Aunt Iris to do it for me.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. C’mon, your first surprise is at STAR Labs.”

“I get more than one??”

“Of course. Only the best for Central City’s resident speed racer.” He led her over to STAR Labs and into the elevator. “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“It’ll make the surprise even better.” She pouted, closing her eyes and allowing Roy to blindly lead her to Caitlin and Cisco’s lab. He stopped her and placed both hands on her shoulders, standing behind her and leaning down slightly. “Alright, open your eyes.”

Slowly, Wally opened her eyes. Barry was there to greet her, standing beside a hero costume on a mannequin. Though the mannequin was too small to be Barry’s. The yellow and red costume mimicked the Flash costume almost exactly with only a few minor changes to make it unique to the wearer. And resting on top of the cowl was the goggles Robin had modified just for Wally.

“Surprise, kiddo. We rebuilt your Kid Flash costume since your old one got ruined. Do you like it?” Barry asked. She stepped forward, hesitantly reaching out to touch the costume.

“...Is this mine?”

“Of course it is. Who else would be Kid Flash?” She gently brushed her fingers over the new costume, completely awestruck. “It’s streamlined and better suited for running than the one you had made yourself. It’s made of the same material as mine so you’ll be able to take hits from villains. And, of course, your goggles that Robin fixed up for you. The cowl frees up your face and keeps your hair from being confined as well. Just the way you like it.”

“...I love it,” she whispered, tears in her eyes. “I love it so much.”

“I’m glad, kiddo,” Barry said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “But this is only surprise number one. Ready for the other one?” She sniffled and nodded, wiping her eyes. He smiled, nudging her towards the lab entrance. “Let’s head home, then.” He led her home, Roy not far behind.

“Are you going to make me close my eyes again?” she asked as they approached the house.

“No, you don’t have to close your eyes this time. But you do have to open the door first,” Barry said, giving her a gentle push towards the door. She blinked, a bit confused, but obliged and opened the door. A burst of confetti greeted her once she had it open, Iris standing there with a smile. “Surprise, kiddo. We’re throwing you a welcome home party.”

“It’s also an early birthday party for your friend Kaldur,” Iris said, ushering her inside. Robin and Kaldur were waiting for her in the living room, waving her over to them. “We thought it’d be a nice surprise. Not to mention this is the first birthday party you’ve attended!”

“Hey, KF!” Robin said, smiling at her. “Kaldur said he’s going to be spending his birthday down in Atlantis, so we thought we’d all celebrate early! Also, it’s a crime that you’ve never been to a birthday party.”

“Don’t remind me… It’s a good thing I finished your gift last night, Kaldur. I didn’t know we were doing this…”

“It was a surprise for a reason, my friend.”

“I guess that’s true. Do you wanna open your present now or later?”

“Usually, presents are last, KF.”

“Oh…” Kaldur smiled at her, letting out a breath.

“I do not mind opening your present now. You seem excited to show me what it is.” She grinned and nodded, handing him the bag with the phone in it. He thanked her and opened it, pulling out the phone and carefully observing it. “A phone?”

“It’s customized so you can use it underwater! That way you can stay in touch with the rest of us and not be left out of any of the fun! It’s a joint gift from me and Roy!”

“All I did was buy it for her,” Roy said as he walked by.

“I supplied you with the info you needed. What about me?” Robin protested.

“You insisted you didn’t want to be a part of the joint gift.”

“...Yeah, I did say that, didn’t I? My gift isn’t finished yet…I’m still working out the kinks…”

“Not everyone can put together something as fast as I did. Plus, every scientific venture has its ups and downs. You’ll get it done and I’m sure it’ll be great.” Robin blinked then smiled and affectionately punched her arm.

“And you said you don’t know how to talk to people. Look at you trying to cheer me up!” Wally grinned and rubbed her arm where he hit her.

“Did it work?”

“Yeah, it worked. Keep it up. You’re getting better at this.”

“Thanks! I’m learning!”

Barry watched her from the kitchen, smiling at how much she was growing and evolving. How much she was trying to move past everything that happened to her. How much progress she was making in being a normal teenager and interacting with kids her age.

“She’s going to be fine, Barry,” Roy said from beside him.

“I know. And I know those two will make sure she stays that way.”


	7. New School, Not So New Feelings

“...” Wally hesitated, looking up at the school looming before her. Today was her first day of middle school and she had been excited the night before. But now she wasn’t so sure.

On one hand, Barry and Iris had her enrolled in a school on the edge of town where she’d be less likely to know anyone and maybe make some new friends where no one knew her.

On the other hand, this was new territory and these people knew each other. Wally was an outsider here and she knew that they all knew it too. There were people staring at her now as she stood there, frozen in place.

God, she wished Roy was here. Maybe he could have given her some courage to take that first step toward the front door.

She could hear them whispering about her, looking at her like she was doing something weird or unnatural. Shaking her head slightly, she sucked in a breath and forced herself to walk toward the door.

Don’t look at them. Keep your head down and don’t draw any unnecessary attention to yourself. They’ll leave you alone if they don’t know you exist.

This advice kept her alive for years, after all. Surely it could help her survive a new school.

Iris had told her to visit the main office to pick up her schedule. Being a last minute transfer before the new school year started created some complications but Wally was sure she could work through it.

Maybe. Hopefully.

“Um… Hello?” she said softly, peeking over the secretary’s desk nervously.

“Hi, honey. How can I help you?”

“U-Um… My name is Wally West and I was told to come here to pick up my class schedule…” The secretary smiled and nodded, shuffling through a few papers on her desk before handing her a couple papers.

“Of course! Your aunt called and told us you were coming. Here is your class schedule, a map of the school and a recommended reading list. Would you like me to have someone walk you to your first class?”

Wally swallowed, panic rising at the thought of being forced to interact with another kid at this school right off the bat.

“N-No, it’s fine. I’m pretty good at finding things…”

“If you’re sure, sweetie. If you need anything else, feel free to stop by again, okay?” Wally nodded, hurrying out of the office and down a random hallway. She glanced at her schedule, noting the room number for her first class and the ones around her.

This was the wrong hallway.

Judging by the way these numbers went up, she needed to be on the opposite side of the school.

But backtracking the way she came would mean she would have to pass by the office and the secretary would see her and think she was lost. (She wasn’t.)

The hallways must loop at some point, so going forward would be her best option right now.

Forward it is, then.

She quickly walked down the hall, flinching ever so slightly every time someone brushed against her. The sooner she got to her classroom, the better. Less chance of being crowded next to strangers.

“Welcome to Central City Junior High, class! I’ll be your teacher, Miss Jones. Now, we’ll be starting with introductions, so each of you will stand up and say your name and an interesting fact about yourself! We’ll go down each row. Now, let’s-” The door opened, Wally standing there looking frazzled and nervous and extremely apologetic. “Oh, hello. You must be Wally! Did you have trouble finding the classroom?”

“...A little…” she said quietly, avoiding making eye contact with her classmates. Miss Jones smiled and nodded her understanding.

“That’s alright. It’s only the first day. Your seat is in the back corner by the window. Go ahead and have a seat, dear.” She nodded quickly, trying not to think of all the eyes on her as she walked swiftly to her seat.

Maybe coming to a different school wasn’t such a good idea.

At least she knew people at her old school. Even if they did torment her. And didn’t really like her.

It was familiar and oddly comforting.

This… This was uncomfortable and unfamiliar and oh god why wouldn’t they stop looking at her like that?

She was vaguely aware of the introductions being made, trying to remember names and put them to faces. But her mind was racing too much. She needed something to play with, something to keep her grounded in reality.

The person next to her stood up and introduced themselves. That meant she was next.

God, what was she going to say? A lot of the stuff about her… she can’t say that in front of a bunch of strangers!

“U-Um… I-I’m Wally West and I…” she mumbled, ducking her head and trying to make herself seem small. Not that, that was hard.

She was short even for her age. As of right now, she and Robin were roughly the same height.

“Hey, speak up!”

“Yeah, we can’t hear you!” She swallowed, panic rising in her chest.

“U-Um… I-I’m Wally West,” she said again, speaking just loud enough to be heard. “A-And I’m really into science a-and the Justice League…”

“Thank you, Wally.” She nodded, quickly sitting back down and slumping just a bit to try and hide. She hoped this would be the first and only time she would have to stand up and have all eyes on her for the rest of the day.

And of course that was only wishful thinking.

Each class she attended forced everyone to introduce themselves. And she was always last.

And of course there were people from her first class in her other classes. And they watched her more than the others.

As she stood up to introduce herself for what felt like the millionth time that morning, she steeled her nerves to speak loud enough that everyone could hear.

“Hi, I’m Wally West and I’m really into science and the Justice League.”

“Jeez, can’t she say anything else?” she heard someone whisper, no doubt a classmate from a previous class.

“I know. At least she stopped stuttering…” another one said.

“Maybe those are her only personality traits. Science and superheroes,” a third one put in.

She swallowed heavily, that familiar feeling of anxiety filling her chest. She struggled to keep it down as class went on, not even listening to the teacher at this point.

She flinched when the bell rang for lunch, grabbing her bag and practically running out of the classroom. Instead of heading for the cafeteria like everyone else, she hid in the bathroom, pulling out her phone and calling the first person that came to mind.

The phone rang and rang, Wally rocking back and forth anxiously, gnawing on her fingernails.

Finally, the ringing stopped.

_ “Hey, Walls. What’s up?” _

She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a choked sob. No words, just her sadness and anxiety in one sound.

_ “Woah, woah… Walls… Wally, what happened? What’s wrong?” _

She shook her head and sobbed again, trying to get the words out.

But she couldn’t.

_ “Okay… Okay, alright. Deep breaths, speed racer. Come on, just like we practiced. In for five seconds.” _

She sucked in a shuddering breath, counting to five in her head.

_ “Good. Now slowly exhale for five seconds. Slowly, okay?” _

She obeyed without question, trembling and curling up in a ball.

_ “Good. Now, I know you’re all curled up right now wherever you’re hiding, but you gotta stretch out to open up your chest. Can you do that for me while still breathing like we just did?” _

She nodded despite Roy not being able to see her, slowly stretching her legs out as she continued to breath.

_ “Good girl. Okay, can you try and tell me what happened now?” _

She swallowed and took one more breath before trying one more time to speak.

“...They all think I’m weird…”

_ “They hardly know you, Walls.” _

“I-I know, but… I-I don’t like being in a new school and I’m an outsider here and they were all looking at me and-”

_ “Woah, slow down. You’re just going to get yourself worked up again.” _

“Right… Slow… I can do slow…”

_ “I know, I know. Now relax and talk to me.” _

“...They were all looking at me a-and all the teachers made us do introductions… Like our names and an interesting fact about ourselves, but… I’m not going to tell a bunch of strangers what happened to me. I can’t tell them I’ve never interacted with people my age until recently.”

_ “So you settled on the basics: science and the League. Right?” _

“Y-Yeah, but… I didn’t expect some of the same people to share classes with me a-and right before this I heard them whispering that I don’t say anything else a-and that my only personality traits are science and superheroes…”

_ “...Wally, let me ask you this. Why does it matter what they think of you?” _

“...Huh?”

_ “You’re so worked up over the fact that you think these kids think you’re weird but they’ve just met you! And yeah, you’re weird. But you’re weird in the best way! So what if you keep saying that you like science and superheroes? I bet you’re the most interesting person in the entire school and they’re just jealous!” _

“You think so…?”

_ “Definitely. Plus, this is your first day of school. Just get through the rest of the day and then tomorrow you show those assholes how amazing you really are! They’ll be lining up to be your friend!” _

She still felt anxious, but… Roy had somehow burned away most of that terrible feeling just by telling her to be herself.

_ “Plus, if they keep giving you trouble I know three sidekicks who would be more than willing to come teach them a lesson.” _

She had to laugh a bit at that.

“I don’t think that’s necessary…”

_ “Got you to laugh, though. Hey, try and have a good first day of school, alright? If your day is still bad by the time school ends, I’ll see if I can arrange a little sidekick bonding time to make you feel better. Okay?” _

“Okay.”

_ “Good girl. Now go eat something and relax.” _

“Thanks, Roy…”

_ “No problem. Oh, and if you really wanna flex on these kids, tell them you know Oliver Queen or Bruce Wayne or hell, even the Flash or Batman or Robin personally. Bet they’ll think you’re real interesting and not totally weird, right?” _

She giggled a bit and wiped the stray tears off her face.

“Right…”

_ “I’ll talk to you later, speed racer. Love you.”  _ Roy hung up before she could answer, leaving Wally alone in the silent bathroom.

People had been telling her they loved her a lot recently. Unfortunately, no one told her the proper response.

Not that anyone gave her the chance to respond afterwards.

That was a problem for another day, though. For now, she better eat the lunch Iris had packed for her.

The last time she didn’t eat something packed for her, she didn’t get any food for a whole day.

But Aunt Iris wouldn’t do that. Right?

Best not to take that risk.

Even if she wasn’t hungry.

By the time the bell rang again, Wally had already found her next class and was seated in her assigned seat. She wasn’t totally relaxed in her new environment yet, but her talk with Roy eased her worries somewhat.

With more introductions on the way, Wally mentally prepared herself for what she was going to say.

Mostly, her thoughts were “Don’t say science and Justice League again”.

“Hi, my name is Wally West and I personally know Oliver Queen.”

And

“Hi, my name is Wally West and the Flash is a family friend of mine.”

And even

“Robin is a good personal friend of mine.”

She had a feeling that most of her new classmates didn’t believe her, but at the moment she didn’t care.

Knowing she was saying something other than science and superheroes was cathartic almost. Like a weight was being lifted off her chest.

Before she knew it, the final bell rang.

The day was finally over.

Packing her bag quickly, she followed the crowd outside, looking around for a familiar face. Barry had told her someone would be around to pick her up, but failed to tell her who it would be.

“Yo, KF! Over here!” She blinked, standing on her toes to try and see who called her nickname. Over the sea of heads, she spotted Kaldur. And the arm waving next to him must be Robin.

So Roy sent her friends to pick her up.

A smile broke out on her face. A true genuine one.

This was the highlight of her day.

“Rob! Kaldur!” She hurried over, practically vibrating with happiness. “What’re you guys doing here?”

“We got the Code Yellow from Roy. Thought it’d be a nice surprise for you if we came to pick you up from school,” Robin said, smirking slightly at her.

“Is Roy here in Central?”

“He said he would be meeting us at Jitters,” Kaldur said, smiling softly at her. “Shall we be on our way?”

“Totally! Man, you are not gonna believe the day I had! If this is what it’s like being normal, I don’t want it!”

Robin snickered at that, walking side by side with her as she rambled on about her day.

Kaldur listened intently, nodding his head and putting in any comments he may have had.

“...And I’m pretty sure they didn’t believe me about knowing Oliver Queen and the Flash and you, Rob!”

“I don’t think I would either, if I were them,” Robin said as they entered Jitters.

“I guess you’ve got a point there. Oh, there’s Roy!”

Roy smiled and waved them over to his table, four cups of hot chocolate already in front of each seat.

“Hey, speed racer. How was the rest of your day?”

“Better! Rob and Kaldur already heard the whole story, but do you wanna hear about my day?”

“I do not mind hearing it again,” Kaldur said, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. “You tell a very entertaining story.”

“Yeah. Plus, I wanna hear about the people who think you’re weird for liking science and superheroes and nothing else again!” Robin added.

Roy nodded and smiled at her, perching his chin in his palm.

“Well, there you go. Lay it on me, Walls.”

“Well, it all started after Aunt Iris dropped me off out front…”


	8. Let's Talk

“....” Barry stood in the doorway to Wally’s bedroom, simply watching her lay face down on her bed with her face buried in her pillow. He hadn’t even realized she had returned from school until he heard a noise from upstairs.

Her window was wide open.

He thought she had broken her habit of sneaking in through the window, but apparently not. She was most likely trying to avoid himself and Iris, though the question was why.

Wally had been making tremendous progress in recovering, but Barry couldn’t help but notice she still wouldn’t talk to them. And whenever something was bothering her, she receded into silence and did her best to avoid interaction with anyone she saw as a parental figure.

Iris had asked him not to press her for information when she got like this, but… he didn’t want her to keep this learned habit of bottling up her feelings.

He didn’t want her to self-destruct.

“...Hey, kiddo. How was school?”

No response. She didn’t even move.

“Okay… Uh…” Barry shifted his weight to his other foot, trying to think of a way to get her to even look at him. “I just recently got a few new movies, kid! I know Iris isn’t home yet, but do you wanna come down and watch them with me?”

Still nothing.

He let out a breath, scratching the back of his neck and leaned against the doorway. He knew he needed her permission before stepping into her room, but she was unresponsive.

“Alright, Walls. You can yell at me for this later, but I’m gonna come inside your room, okay?”

And just as before, there was no answer.

He nodded, walking into the room and over to her bed, kneeling beside it.

“Hey, kiddo… I know you don’t usually open up to anyone older than Roy, but… I’m right here if you wanna talk about what’s going on.”

So, he sat there for what felt like hours. Just waiting for Wally to make the first move and maybe start opening up to him.

“Barry…”

He looked over to see Iris standing there, watching him with concern.

“Barry, please leave her alone. You know she doesn’t like to talk about things-”

“She talks with Roy and the other sidekicks. But sometimes they’re not available to talk her through things, so… I don’t want her to just bottle everything up. I want her to be able to talk to us if she needs anything.”

“Barry, you can’t force her to talk to you…!”

“I’m not forcing her to do anything. I told her if she wanted to talk to someone other than Roy, I’d be right here.”

“Barry, she doesn’t want to talk to us! She’ll come to us when she’s ready!”

“She’s not going to be ready if you keep insisting that we just let her bottle up her emotions!”

His voice was too loud, too sharp.

For the first time since she came home, Wally moved.

She flinched and shoved the pillow onto the top of her head, squeezing it down over her ears and curling up into a ball.

“Shit… Wally, kiddo, you know I didn’t mean to yell. I wasn’t yelling at you, I promise.”

He reached out to touch her.

She responded by moving out of his reach.

“I’m sorry, Walls. We’ll… We’ll be downstairs if you need us, alright?” he said softly, getting to his feet and leaving the room with Iris.

Neither of them saw her leave her room that night.

In fact, she seemed to be actively avoiding them up until the weekend.

“Iris, this isn’t good for her and you know it,” Barry said quietly. “We need to teach her to break this bad habit as soon as possible.”

“I know. But we should let her do it at her own pace! You’ve seen how she gets if you try to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do,” Iris said. “She shuts down and doesn’t do anything.”

“I know, I know. I’m not going to force her. I’m just going to keep reminding her that she can come to us for anything she needs.”

Neither were aware of the short red-headed girl watching them from the kitchen doorway.

“You’ve been doing that, but she hasn’t-” Iris cut off, looking up to see Wally. “Wally, honey, did you just get home from school? It’s a little late… were you helping someone with a science project again?”

“...I want to talk,” was all she said.

“O-Okay…! Come and sit down, sweetie. I’ll get you something to drink and we can order your favorite for dinner tonight,” Iris said, smiling as she ushered Wally over to the table.

Wally sat across from Barry, fidgeting with her fingers under the table and avoiding eye contact.

Barry gave her a soft smile.

“Take your time, kiddo. We’re not going anywhere.”

“...” Wally didn’t speak for quite a few minutes. She seemed to be getting her thoughts in order.

She kept opening her mouth like she was going to start, but would just as quickly close it.

After trying and failing to get any words out, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a notebook.

“...This is the only way I can talk to you… for right now…” she mumbled, setting the notebook down and sliding it toward Barry. “Because I know you read them…”

“Let’s see here…” Barry opened the notebook, starting to read each page.

They were short entries, each one followed by a drawing or a polaroid photo to further represent what she had said in the entry above it.

The first one seemed to be from after she returned from her sleepover with Roy over in Starling City.

_ I woke up in the middle of the night again and Ollie caught me. I told him I had been having nightmares since that day my parents got arrested. He told me to tell Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris about these nightmares, but I don’t want to bother them. I can deal with them myself and they should theoretically go away on their own, even without help from any kind of medication. Also, I don’t want to take any medication. _

“Alright, no medication to help with your nightmares… But, I did see gummies that could help you sleep better if you want those instead.”

Wally nodded, still not making eye contact.

He flipped through each page, commenting on each and every problem he came across and offering solutions when she would clearly state on the entry that she didn’t like a certain solution.

Eventually, he got to the final two entries.

_ The other kids at school still think I’m weird, but that’s okay. Roy told me that I should just be myself and not care what the others think. Rob and Kaldur like me the way I am and that’s all that matters. On the plus side, they don’t think I’m as weird as the first day. And they’re not using me to complete their homework or any projects without helping. They know I’m really good with science and numbers, so I always offer to help out with any work after school at the library. Lots and lots of kids show up! I think word got around. Hopefully this means that I’m not gonna have a repeat of what happened at my old school. _

_ Uncle Barry yelled today. _

_ Well, he didn’t yell at me, but it was near me and he was arguing with Aunt Iris about whether or not he was doing the right thing to help me start talking to adults about my problems. I can’t come up with the words right now, so I decided that maybe I should just show them this notebook! It’s got all my thoughts down on it and, until I’m able to open up more and actually use my words, I think this is a good way to communicate my problems! Maybe even writing down something on one page and tearing it out if that specific problem needs immediate attention. I have a bunch of notebooks set aside just for this. _

“...Well, if this is the best way for you to communicate your problems to us, then we’ll go along with it! And if you start running out of notebooks, I’ll get you some more. Just try not to let your emotions get all bottled up inside, okay?”

Wally nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

Barry smiled softly, reaching across the table and ruffling her hair affectionately.

“You’re doing great, kiddo. It may not seem like it yet, but you’re taking big steps toward recovery.”

Wally nodded again, glancing up at him.

“Now, how about we break out some movies and relax for a while?”

“...Well…”

“Barry, don’t you remember?” Iris said, handing Wally her overnight bag and a takeout bag. “This weekend is the sidekick sleepover at Oliver’s. The others should be here soon to pick her up.”

“Ah, that’s right. We’ll put a rain check on movie night, then! Remember to have fun!”

A knock sounded on the door, Wally looking over and spotting Robin peeking in the window.

He grinned and waved at her.

“Guess you better get going, kiddo.”

“Yeah… I’ll see you on Sunday…”

With her bags in hand, Wally hurried over to the door, opening it to find all over her friends waiting for her.

“Hey, KF! Ready to hit the road?” Robin said, still grinning. “Apparently Roy’s got a weekend of fun planned!”

“Did Iris buy you dinner, Walls? Why didn’t you eat before?” Roy asked as the quartet of sidekicks walked away from the house.

“I was helping some kids from school with their homework at the library, so I got home a little later than usual.”

“It is good that you are making friends at school,” Kaldur said.

“I wouldn’t call them friends… I never hang out with them outside of tutoring them and they don’t invite me to anything.”

“Still,” Roy said, ruffling her hair affectionately. “You’re making great progress, Walls. I’m proud of you.”

“...” Wally didn’t respond to that, shaking her head a bit to get Roy to stop touching her.

Her change in demeanor and her silence did not go unnoticed by the three boys around her.

Robin parted his lips to ask her what was wrong, but was silenced by a look from Roy.

He nodded. She’d talk when she was ready.

And she most likely didn’t want to ruin tonight by talking about her problems that she’s still processing herself.

“Kaldur, do you want some fries? Have you had Big Belly Burger yet?” Wally asked, holding out the bag to him with a small smile.

She was trying to change the subject. Even Kaldur knew that.

“Thank you, my friend,” he said, taking a couple fries from out of the bag. “I do not believe that is one of the places you have taken me during my trips here.”

“That needs to change. Stat,” Robin said with a smirk.

“Well, I know what we’re ordering tonight,” Roy said, already putting in an order for it as they sat on the train. “Wally, you want double or triple servings?”

“Triple. I gotta keep up with my metabolism.”

“Got it. Robin, order what you want and help Kaldur look through the menu,” he said, handing Robin his phone.

“...” Wally watched Robin and Kaldur quietly, though her focus was mostly on Robin.

“You’re staring again,” Roy whispered.

“I know. I’m just… theorizing.” Roy raised an eyebrow at that.

“Would you like to share with the class?”

“...No. I don’t have anything concrete yet.”

“Fair enough. So, tell me how school has been so far. Seems like you’re doing better since the first day, right?”

“Well, it’s school, so nothing exciting. Y’know?” Wally said, shrugging a bit and holding onto her backpack. “But I happened to witness some weird stuff going on.”

“Oh, do tell, Miss West.”

Wally gave a small smile and gladly started telling him about the middle school drama she witnessed at school.

“So, KF,” Robin said, sitting cross-legged next to her on Roy’s bed. “What’s it like having super speed?”

“...Honestly, it’s exactly like running like a normal person except way faster and you have to eat like three times as much to recover the energy expended by running at high speeds. Uncle Barry can phase through walls and stuff, but I haven’t figured out the right speed to do it yet.”

“How many times have you slammed into a wall at full speed?”

“More than I’d like to admit. Caitlin and Cisco think it’s because I can’t physically reach that speed just yet, but they have a theory that I may get faster as I get older.”

Robin nodded, letting that subject drop for now.

“My turn to ask you a question,” Wally said, shifting slightly so she was facing him. “From what I understand, you haven’t been Batman’s sidekick for too long. Probably only a bit longer than I’ve been Kid Flash…”

“Yeah, but I thought we cleared that up before.”

“Mmhm… So, if you’ve only been training under Batman for such a short amount of time, how is it that you’re so good at acrobatics?”

Robin hesitated for just a moment. It didn’t go unnoticed by watchful green eyes.

“...Even before I became his protege, I had a background in that kind of stuff. No big deal. It just gave me an upper hand in training.”

“Mm…” She observed him for a few more moments before shrugging and turning back toward the TV. “Okay.”

“Walls, are you asking weird questions again?” Roy called from the balcony.

“We’re fine in here, thanks!” she called back, sticking her tongue out at him.

“My, my. I did not expect her to become so lively after her… quietness earlier,” Kaldur said, leaning against the railing and looking over at Roy.

“Yeah… But she’s still not completely back to normal. There’s something she’s not talking about… or maybe she’s still processing something. Who knows? I can never guess what’s going through her mind at any given moment.”

“I would beg to differ,” Kaldur said with a small smile on his lips. “With you two being so close, it is almost as if you can read her like an open book. Even if some of the words are missing, you are able to use context clues to figure out what she is trying to say or what is going on inside her mind. It amazes me every time it happens. One day I hope to be able to do the same with both her and Robin.”

“...” Roy hummed, looking over at him. “I’m sure one day you’ll be able to. Though, if we’re comparing them to books, Wally is a really wordy one and Robin’s text is in some kind of code. If you can decipher either one, you’ll learn all their secrets.”

Roy let out a small laugh.

“I’m still sifting through Wally, after all.”


	9. Of Course I Know The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter so soon??
> 
> I was feeling extra inspired for this one and had a solid idea on what I wanted it to be about, so this one got done fairly quickly.
> 
> That said, enjoy!!

Wally West was suspicious.

She was suspicious of a lot of things.

Not as many as she had been before, but she was still suspicious.

Take right now, for example.

She had just gotten out of school when she was whisked away to wander around Central instead of heading straight home by Roy and her friends. When questioned why they weren’t taking her home - she told them she had homework to finish and a project to start- they dodged the question and instead kept dragging her around.

She noticed Roy kept checking his phone. Too often to be checking the time.

He was waiting for a message from someone.

She had tried sneaking off to run back home, but Kaldur always seemed to know what she was doing.

They were acting weird and she couldn’t quite seem to figure out why.

Even her teachers and classmates had been acting strangely around her today.

She had received more compliments from teachers and less ridicule from the other kids.

Hell, even her science teacher had just… given her a new book on science. She had tried to give it back, but he kept telling her it was a gift for her.

Even with her limited understanding of social situations, she knew that gifts were usually given on special occasions.

Was today a special occasion? It wasn’t a holiday or anything like that…

So why was everyone acting so weird?

Just as she was getting fed up with not getting any answers, Roy shoved his phone back into his pocket and gave her a smile.

“Alright, well, I think it’s about time we get her home, guys.”

“About time…” she grumbled. Her social battery was rapidly draining due to this forced socialization with her friends and she needed to recharge for a bit. It was making her a bit grumpy and, honestly, all she wanted was to just lay in bed for a couple hours.

The quartet of sidekicks made their way to Wally’s home, Wally being forced between Robin and Kaldur.

Probably so she wouldn’t run ahead of them.

“Phew… We’re finally here. Walls, if you would do the honors,” Roy said, smiling and gesturing toward the door.

“Jeez… What’s with you today?” Wally mumbled under her breath, stepping forward and opening the front door.

A burst of confetti greeted her once it was opened, Wally blinking in surprise.

There was silence for a few moments as Wally processed what she could see inside the house and how that correlated to the date. She was drawing a blank, honestly.

“Shit… I didn’t think she forgot what today was…” she heard Roy say quietly to himself.

“Ask her, then…! Someone…!” Robin whispered loudly.

“Hey, kiddo…?” Barry said, smiling at her. She could see the uneasiness in his expression. Was there something she just wasn’t getting about this situation? “Do you know what today is?”

She blinked at him, looking confused at the question. Of course she knew what the date was.

“It’s… November 11th… Why?”

More silence.

There was definitely something she wasn’t getting.

She heard a frustrated noise from behind her.

“KF, it’s your birthday! You’re officially 12 years old!” Robin said loudly, frustration evident in his voice.

So that’s what it was.

Birthday, huh…? 

She never bothered to actually remember the day of her birth. Her parents never celebrated it and the only reason she vaguely had a sense of when it was, was because she kept getting glimpses of it on medical papers and official school paperwork.

“...Oh… I didn’t… I didn’t realize…”

Her stutter was returning as her mind raced to find a good excuse as to why she didn’t know it was her birthday today.

Her panic was rising as she struggled to get her thoughts together.

“Woah, woah… Calm down, kiddo. C’mon, come sit down and relax. It’s alright that you didn’t remember…” Barry said quickly, gently guiding her over to the couch and sitting her down, kneeling beside her. “Hey, deep breaths, alright?”

Wally did her best to obey, trying to breathe like Roy always told her to whenever she panicked.

In for five seconds… Hold… Out for five seconds, slowly… Repeat until breathing is under control.

Her breathing slowed as she took her deep breaths. She wasn’t calm, but she wasn’t panicking as much as before.

“Good… Now listen to me carefully, okay?”

She gave a small nod.

“It’s more than alright that you forgot it was your birthday today. You know why? Because you never had a reason to celebrate it before now. I know your parents always brushed today aside and didn’t celebrate it with you or anything like that. And maybe I should’ve listened to your Aunt Iris about easing you into this whole birthday party thing!”

Barry laughed a bit, trying to ease her a bit more.

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

“So, yeah, a surprise party probably wasn’t the greatest first step to take, but it’s too late to back out now. And just so you know, we’re going to celebrate every year, so make sure you’re ready for each party. Now, you just relax and have a good time while your friends show you the ropes for a birthday party.”

She nodded again, wiping her eyes.

Robin grinned and hopped onto the seat next to her, nudging her slightly.

“C’mon, KF! I brought some games you might like to play for your party today! Fair warning that I’m a master at video games, though. Think you can steal my title?”

“...I’ve never played a video game before, so…”

Robin gave a dramatic gasp and clutched at his chest.

Wally giggled and smiled at him.

“That… is a crime! I have so much to teach you!”

“I have never played a video game either, Robin,” Kaldur said, smiling softly.

“Kaldur, not you too! That’s it! Roy, help me set up this up! These two have  _ got  _ to learn all about video games!”

“Okay, so… how do I play again?” Wally asked, holding the controller awkwardly and pouting a bit.

“It’s a racing game! Use the right trigger to accelerate, the left is the brake - not that anyone uses the brakes in racing games - and you press any other button to use any items that you may pick up. Oh, and the left stick is to turn your vehicle!”

“Okay… I can figure this out…” she mumbled, glancing at all the characters she could choose from.

She eventually settled on a tall blonde princess-looking character in a blue dress.

She just thought she was pretty.

Next was… customizing the car? Sorta?

She hummed as she looked through each option and combinations, settling on what she thought would be the best for her to win.

The first race started, Wally noticing that there were no bumpers on the side of the track to prevent her from falling off.

She was careful to avoid getting too close to the edge.

“Oh! I win,” she said as she passed the finish line, 1st place proudly displayed in her corner of the screen.

“Augh! Your first time playing and you already beat me!” Robin said, having come in second. He groaned, falling over onto his side.

“Wow, didn’t take you as a sore loser, Robin,” Roy said with an amused smirk. “Besides, it’s her birthday and birthday girl gets winner rights for every game!”

“Are you implying I let her win?”

“Did you?”

Robin pouted and sat up again, narrowing his eyes behind his sunglasses.

Wally watched the interaction, casting Kaldur a confused but amused look before deciding to join in on whatever this conversation was.

“Maybe you lost because you’re wearing sunglasses inside,” she teased, laughing when Robin punched her shoulder lightly.

“That’s not it!”

“I’ll take the video game crown, thanks!”

“That was only one game! It might’ve been a fluke!”

“Another round, then! I’ll prove it wasn’t a fluke!”

“You’re on!”

Kaldur smiled as he watched his friends scramble to start up another race, content with getting whatever place he got. It was nice that they were getting along so well and he was glad that Wally was feeling a bit better.

Iris, not wanting to disturb their game time, didn’t say a word as she set food down on the coffee table.

“Aw, come on!” Robin groaned, having lost his fifth race in a row to Wally.

“Looks like I hold the title of master of video games now, Rob.”

He groaned again and smacked her shoulder.

She laughed and shoved him playfully.

“I must admit defeat as well,” Kaldur said, setting down his controller. He hadn’t come in last, but he was usually a few places behind his friends. Not that he minded too much.

“Well, if we’re all done with video games, I think it’s time for cake and presents,” Barry said, leaning against the doorway.

Iris smiled and peeked out from behind him, a cake in her hands.

The cake had no candles, but Wally didn’t seem to notice or care.

There was a sparkle in her eyes as she eyed the cake, her teasing of Robin forgotten for now.

She hadn’t had cake since Kaldur’s surprise birthday party. And even then, she had quickly found out that she did not like ice cream cake as much as she thought she would.

This would be her first time having an actual cake in her entire life.

Barry chuckled at her expression. He knew she was excited for the cake itself, but thought it best not to overwhelm her with traditions.

Introducing her to a traditional birthday party for someone else could come at a later date.

For now, letting her enjoy her day was enough.

Once cake was passed out and presents were opened, the kids went back to their games. Wally and Robin were competing against one another constantly, fighting for the title of number one.

They played for hours, Kaldur eventually tapping out all together just to watch his friends play and compete with one another.

“It was a rocky start, but it seemed like she was having fun in the end,” Iris said quietly as she cleaned up the living room, careful not to wake any of the sleeping sidekicks.

Roy was curled up in the armchair, a blanket tucked around his body as he slept.

Kaldur was asleep on the loveseat, stretched out completely and leaving no room for anyone else.

Robin and Wally were cuddled up together on the couch. She had her head on his shoulder, her arms tucked between their bodies.

Despite having all the room in the world for the two of them to sleep comfortable on the couch, Barry couldn’t help but find it funny and adorable that they both fell asleep like that.

Tucking a blanket around them, he smiled softly and gently removed Robin’s sunglasses, setting them aside for when he woke up.

“Yeah… Looks like it.”


	10. Got A Secret, Can You Keep It?

“Hey, kiddo! What’s up?” Barry said, smiling as he leaned against the doorway to Wally’s room. “Getting a headstart on any summer homework?”

Wally didn’t answer right away, typing away on her laptop and occasionally scribbling something into a notebook. School had let out for summer about a week ago, leaving Wally to her own devices until she started high school in the fall.

Now 14 years old, she was definitely better during social situations and had a better grasp on normal human interactions and traditions.

She still didn’t quite get the concept of her own birthday party yet, but she enjoyed the festivities. Barry and Iris were still easing her into these kinds of things, starting small and making sure she understood things first before adding more and more things each year.

“...No, I finished all that already. I’m working on stuff I actually wanna work on,” she said finally, though she didn’t look at him. “You can come in, by the way.”

“Oh? And what kind of stuff do you want to work on?” he asked, stepping into the room and smiling more.

“Oh, y’know. Trying to decipher Robin’s secret identity using all the data I’ve collected on him throughout the three years I’ve known him. The usual.”

Barry nodded like he understood. He mostly did, but he didn’t quite get her obsession with knowing who Robin really was.

“I see, I see… And how’s that coming along?”

“I have a lead and wow, do I hate where this is going.”

“Hm… Can I see what you’ve got so far?”

She shrugged and handed him the notebook she had been scribbling in.

Barry smiled and thanked her, flipping through what she had written.

“...Richard Grayson? That’s your lead? Why’s that such a bad thing?”

“Because Dick Grayson locked me in a dark room all alone at Wayne Enterprises because he had heard about what I did to my garage. He did not leave a good first impression.”

“...Wally, that was three years ago. Are you still mad about that?”

“...No, not really. I’m just being petty, but honestly that’s the only interaction I’ve had with him and it just left a bad taste in my mouth,” she said, taking the notebook back. “But, if my theory is correct, he has thoroughly redeemed himself and I’ll pretend like that incident never happened.”

“You have a lot of evidence here… How’d you even find out what their blood types were?”

“Does it matter?”

Barry gave her a look.

She gave him one back.

“It was nothing illegal, if that’s what you’re worried about. I asked Caitlin to analyze some blood from Robin that had gotten on my cheek,” she explained, turning back to her laptop. “And then I just emailed Bruce Wayne and asked him for the information I needed. He wished me good luck on my ventures.”

“I see. Well, as long as you’re not doing anything illegal,” he said, shrugging and turning to leave. “If you’re gonna run off to yell at Robin once you’ve got it all figured out, just let us know before you go.”

“Got it.”

Barry nodded, leaving her to her work.

Truth be told, Wally had already figured out who Robin really was shortly after she met him.

It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together.

Plus they both had the same terrible laugh, so that cemented it in her head.

Her only problem was how she was going to tell him that she knew.

Secret identities were more important to Batman and Robin than they were to any other superhero. If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t really care if anyone figured out she was Kid Flash.

The only reason she didn’t go broadcasting who she was, was because Barry had told her that the people she loved might be put in danger if any of their enemies found out.

Back to her conundrum, she frowned and stared at her phone.

What would you even say in this situation?

She couldn’t just straight up say that she knew his secret identity. That would be creepy and bad and they might not be friends after that.

**[17:35] Rob:** _ hey i need to talk to you about something real quick _

**[17:35] Rob:** _ meet me by the ferris wheel at funland in gotham _

Well, seems like her problem was just solved for her.

**[17:35] KF:** _ be right there _

She pulled on her sneakers, stretching as she stood up and grabbing one of her many backpacks out of habit.

Well, mostly out of habit.

She had a backpack she used to meet with every single one of her friends. Each one had notebooks on each person and snacks she knew that they both liked.

And each one was customized to mimic her friends’ styles.

Robin’s was the most subtle, being black with a single yellow R on the front.

“I’m going out to meet with Robin! I’ll be back in time for dinner!” Wally called out as she rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping on her own feet.

“Have fun and don’t kill each other!” Barry called back as Wally hurried to the door.

“No promises!”

Once she was away from any prying eyes, she activated her super speed and ran all the way to Gotham.

She had only been to Gotham’s Funland once. And it was to help out in a fight against the Joker.

She thought Captain Cold was a weird guy, but Joker took the cake.

She came to a stop at the entrance to Funland, walking in and looking around for any sign of Robin.

She finally spotted him waiting right where he told her he’d be. Right in front of the ferris wheel.

“Hey, were you waiting long? Sorry if I’m late…” she said, rubbing the back of her neck and smiling slightly.

“Nah, I just got here. It’s fine,” Robin said, smiling back at her. “C’mon, I already got us tickets to ride the ferris wheel. We can talk while we ride.”

She nodded, following him onto the ride and sitting across from him.

“So what did you wanna talk about? ‘Cause I got something I wanna talk about, too, but we can start with you!” Wally said, smiling more.

Wally never really started conversations herself unless it was something she was passionate about.

Plus she liked hearing her friends and loved ones talk about things they liked. It was soothing and relaxing to hear someone else’s voice.

“Hm… Well, I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while and I did get permission to tell you about it… So, I want to tell you that I’m-”

“Dick Grayson, ward of Bruce Wayne?” Wally interrupted, smiling widely. “Yeah, I figured. That’s actually what I wanted to talk about, too.”

Dick stared at her, taking off his sunglasses and looking her over.

“...How long have you known?”

“You really think I wouldn’t realize that the kid that locked me in a room by myself and Robin were the same person? You both have the same exact laugh! And a lot of other things lined up as well, but that’s what cemented it for me.”

There was silence between them as the ferris wheel came to a slow stop to let more people on.

Wally, unlike how panicked she would be with silence from other people in the past, leaned back and looked out at Gotham City.

The sun still hadn’t set in Gotham, but that didn’t mean it still wasn’t pretty. All the buildings were silhouetted against the sun, making it look like a painting.

She could look at it all day.

“...So, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well,” she said, glancing over at him. “You have to keep in mind what kind of person I was when I first found out. I was scared of losing the only friends I ever had by telling them I knew things about them no one else did. So I kept quiet until recently. I was finally ready to confront what I knew.”

She let out a small laugh.

“But, as always, you saved me from trying to figure out a way to say anything myself!”

Dick nodded and looked out at the city as well.

“What will you do with this information?”

“Nothing.”

He gave her a look.

She gave him one back.

“I mean it. I’m not going to tell anyone. It’s not my secret to tell, anyway. It’s yours for whenever you’re ready.” A small pause, and then “Does Roy know? Kaldur?”

“No, they don’t. You keep secrets really well, so I…” he started, Wally noticing a light blush on his cheeks. “I thought you should be the first one to know the truth. Bruce certainly thought so, too.”

“Yeah, well, I think he figured that if I’ve known that Bruce Wayne is Batman for years and have told no one, I can keep this secret, too.”

Dick snorted and smirked in amusement.

“How did you even figure that one out?”

“Come on! He’s the only one with enough money in Gotham to afford all the cool gadgets and stuff that Batman uses! It’s so obvious!”

“Apparently not obvious enough if no one else seems to be able to figure it out.”

“Yeah, well, they’re also the same people who can’t figure out the whole Clark Kent thing, too,” she said, laughter evident in her voice as they stepped off the ride.

“Very true, very true. Well, you probably have to run home now, right? It’s probably dinner time over in Central.”

“Well, yeah, but it’ll take me such a short time to get there. We can hang out for a bit longer,” she said, grinning with pink dusted cheeks. “I mean, if you want.”

“Hmm… I suppose I could beat you at a few carnival games before you go.”

“You’re on, Grayson.”

He laughed and shoved her playfully before running off to one of the games, Wally hot on his heels.

They played games for a long time, winning each other prizes and mostly losing the more rigged games.

Wally attempted these games multiple times, trying her best to figure out the best way to actually win these games.

She was unsuccessful.

“Okay, I actually have to head home now,” Wally said, smiling widely.

“Catch you later, KF. I’ll see if I can come hang around Central sometime!”

“Let me know! I’ll see you.”

She gave a wave, one of the stuffed prizes tucked under her arm as she ran back home.

Coming to a stop just outside her house, she let out a breath and stepped inside.

“I’m home!”

“Hey, welcome back, kiddo! You’re just in time for dinner,” Barry said, smiling as he greeted her. “What’s that in your hand?”

“We hung out at Funland for a bit and managed to win some prizes.”

“Hm, I see! Well, go put it in your room and clean up before we eat. You can tell us what you two did!”

She grinned and hurried upstairs, setting the stuffed animal down on her bed and quickly washing her hands in the bathroom before returning downstairs.

Taking her place at the table, she waited until both Iris and Barry were sitting down before starting to eat.

“So, kiddo, tell us how your evening went.”


	11. Independence Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, Gals, and Non-binary pals we are finally into canon territory here!  
> Welcome to episode one of season one!  
> It only took 11 chapters, but we are finally here! Please enjoy!

Wally was excited for today.

Well, excited and a little impatient.

They had an important event today and of course Captain Cold had to attack Central when they were supposed to be somewhere else entirely.

“Okay, I know I said we can run circles around Captain Cold but this isn’t what I meant!” Wally said, exasperation evident in her voice.

Barry chuckled, glancing over at her as they literally ran circles around him.

“Be patient, kiddo. No need to rush this.”

“Ugh! But we have somewhere to be! I’m ending this now.”

“Kid, wait!”

Wally ignored Barry, rushing toward Captain Cold in hopes of knocking him out quickly.

He noticed her approach and aimed his cold gun at her, firing.

She spun out of the way, the ice hitting her shoulder but she didn’t stop.

Aiming a good hit at his face, she managed to knock him out, coming to a stop and letting out a breath.

Barry came to a stop next to her, smiling and ruffling her hair.

“Good job, kid. Once the police take him away, we can go, alright?”

“Yeah, if the media doesn’t get to you first.”

Barry chuckled, but didn’t deny it.

“Jeez, they’re late again…” Roy said, shifting his weight to his other foot and crossing his arms over his chest.

Oliver gave a laugh, patting Roy on the shoulder.

“I’ve never seen you three so impatient! Kaldur, especially!”

“My apologies,” Kaldur said, smiling slightly. “I am simply excited for today.”

“Yeah,” Robin put in. “I mean, today  _ is  _ the day, after all! All that’s left is to wait for our resident speedsters to show up. Wonder what’s taking so long…”

“The Flash no doubt got caught up with the media. Kid Flash isn’t known to leave without him for important meetings such as this,” Batman said. “It shouldn’t be long now.”

As if on cue, two blurs rushed toward them, coming to a stop a few feet away.

“Aw, man! I knew we’d be the last ones here! This is what happens when we waste time on important days!”

Barry chuckled and ruffled her hair affectionately.

Wally whined and pouted, swatting his hand away.

“I’ve never seen you this impatient before, kiddo! Usually you’re willing to wait however long it takes!”

“What? Is that such a bad thing now?”

“No, of course not,” Barry said, smiling at her. “It just means you're becoming more of a normal teenager. And I can understand it for today. After all, it’s a big day today.”

At that, she relaxed slightly and gave a small smile.

“So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get these kids inside.”

The group finally set off toward the Hall of Justice, a crowd already waiting for them along with news crews trying to get any footage of these heroes.

“Wow… This is my first time at the Hall,” Wally said as they walked through the path set up for them, ignoring the camera flashes and people asking her for a comment. “It’s all a little overwhelming…”

“You’re overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed! Why isn’t anyone just whelmed?” Robin said, sounding just a bit frustrated.

Wally laughed and shrugged, tuning into the conversations happening around her.

“Look, it’s Flash’s sidekick! Kid Flash!”

“No, no that’s Speedy!”

“No, Speedy is Green Arrow’s sidekick.”

“Jeez, what’s so hard about my sidekick name, huh?” she muttered. “I chose Kid Flash for a reason.”

“Maybe Speedy should change his name, then,” Robin said, laughing when Roy shot him a look. Wally laughed as well, grinning at Roy.

“Don’t forget I had this name first, weirdos,” Roy said.

“Yeah, but I’m faster!”

Roy rolled his eyes, but she could see the fond little smile on his face.

Wally let out a breath as they finally entered the Hall, the doors shutting behind them and muffling the noise from outside. She looked around the room they were in, lagging a bit behind the group as she tried to get a good look at everything.

She knew that part of the Hall of Justice was used as a sort of museum for the public to come in and look at, but she had never seen it for herself.

Robin, having noticed that she wasn’t moving as quickly as she had outside, slowed down his pace a bit to keep her company.

“See anything cool that we’re not allowed to touch?” he asked.

“No. I mean, I’m sure there’s things we’re not allowed to touch, but nothing super cool and mind blowing. Do you think we can come back here on a day off so I can get a better look at everything, though?”

“I’m sure Kaldur and Roy won’t mind. Speaking of, we better hurry or they’ll leave us behind.” He gestured in front of them where their mentors and friends were way ahead of them.

“Oh, oops! I didn’t realize I was walking so slow!”

She grabbed his hand and hurried to catch up with them, pulling Robin along.

They easily caught up with the group, no one commenting on their minor disappearance, though Kaldur had glanced at them when they came running over.

Batman unlocked a door marked ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ and stepped inside, everyone else following suit.

“Here we are, kids!” Barry said, smiling widely. “Feel free to have a seat!”

Wally, Robin and Kaldur took the only three chairs in the little room, leaving Roy to stand. Roy frowned but didn’t say anything just yet.

“This room will be available to you whenever you need it,” Batman said. “There are books for research on villains or whatever you may need for an upcoming mission.”

“So that’s it? After all the hype around today, we just got a glorified tour of the Hall of Justice?”

All eyes turned to Roy.

Wally smiled nervously, unsure on what brought on this outburst from her oldest friend. Not even a few minutes earlier, he was just as excited as she was for this. And now?

“H-Hey, Roy, what do you mean? We’ve been waiting a long time for today, right? Aren’t you excited? You were earlier today…”

For the first time since they had met, Roy glared harshly at Wally.

She flinched and quickly averted her eyes.

“What’s so exciting about being put on display like all the other things in this place?!” he said loudly, gesturing to the people taking photos of them through the observation windows above them. “You’re all still treating us like a bunch of kids! I bet you three didn’t even know that the League has a secret headquarters in space called the Watchtower!”

Wally swung her head around to look at Barry, silently asking if it was true. He wouldn’t meet her eye.

Batman gave Green Arrow a stern look.

“What? I thought he was ready to know!”

Roy scoffed and stepped forward.

“I’m the oldest out of all the sidekicks! I deserve a spot in the League! I’m ready!”

He was face to face with Batman, both of them glaring at each other.

“You’re not ready,” was all Batman said.

Roy growled lowly, literally throwing his hat down.

“Fine then. I quit.”

The three sidekicks could only watch in shocked silence as Roy left the room.

They were pulled from their stunned states as the monitor in the room turned on with an emergency message from Superman.

“Batman, a fire has broken out at Cadmus-”

Another message came in, Zatara interrupting Superman.

“I need full League response! Wotan is attempting to use the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun!”

Batman nodded, turning his attention to Superman.

“...The local authorities have the fire under control.”

“Right. We’re on our way, Zatara,” Batman said, ending the transmissions. He turned to the remaining three sidekicks. “You three stay here until we get back. Do not leave the Hall.”

Without waiting for any kind of response, their mentors left via Zeta tube, leaving the sidekicks to process what just happened.

“...I cannot believe my king would keep such a secret from me,” Kaldur said, breaking the tense silence in the room and setting off a chain reaction.

“I thought he told me everything! Why doesn’t he trust me?!” Robin said, frustrated and pacing back and forth angrily.

“....” Wally stayed silent, though her hands - now clenched into fists - were trembling and her face was a bit red.

Kaldur noticed her clear anger and frustration, letting out a breath.

“Please, Kid, let it all out.”

As if he had flipped a switch in her head, Wally let out a shout and got to her feet, running around the room and stopping at random times to gesture about her frustration.

“Are you kidding me?! Uncle Barry said no more secrets and he still kept a secret from me! He’s the one who wanted me to talk to him, but he won’t talk to me! I see how it is, Uncle Barry! See if you even get a notebook entry about my problems now!”

She let out another shout before collapsing back into her chair, running her hands down her face.

“Ugh… That felt good…”

“Well, now that we’ve all yelled about our mentors keeping secrets, let’s see what’s so important about this Cadmus place,” Robin said, already starting to look it up on the League computer.

Wally, now curious on what he was doing, hurried over and stood next to him.

“Hmm… looks like it’s locked behind some kind of encryption code…” Robin mumbled, smirking slightly. “Like that’ll keep me out.”

“Woah… How’re you doing that?” Wally asked, watching him work.

“Same system as the Batcave,” he said proudly.

A single page of information was brought up on Cadmus, though it didn’t offer much.

“Hm… Says here it’s just a genetics research facility. But it must be pretty important if the League is worried about it. I say we check it out.”

“Solve their case before they do,” Kaldur agreed, but a thought came to him. “However, our mentors asked us to remain here until they returned.”

“Oh please, Kaldur! This could be our only chance to prove we’re more than sidekicks!” Robin argued.

“Wait, are you saying you’re going?” Wally asked, grinning widely. “Because if you’re going, I’m going!”

They both turned to Kaldur, matching grins on their faces. He looked between them, then sighed and gave a small smile himself.

“And just like that, we’re a team,” he said. “We should hurry if we wish to get this done before anyone realizes we’re gone.”

“Right. I’ve got the location. Let’s get a move on,” Robin said.

The trio of sidekicks used the Zeta tube inside the Hall to teleport easily near Cadmus.

Immediately, Robin and Wally hurried off to do their own thing to save any scientists, leaving Kaldur alone.

Wally noticed a scientist hanging out of a window, running up the side of the building to catch them.

“Kaldur, heads up!” she called out, grabbing hold of the scientist and throwing him away from the building.

Kaldur acted quickly, using his water bearers to catch the scientist with a pillar of water.

Wally stumbled a bit as she tried to turn around and run back down, instead grabbing the edge of the window sill.

“Hey, look! It’s Speedy!” she heard someone say. With a groan and a roll of her eyes, she turned her head slightly to call back.

“Kid! Flash! Why is that so hard?”

Pulling herself into the building, she did a quick search around to make sure no one was left inside. Once she was satisfied, she met back up with Robin and Kaldur on the second floor.

“Everyone’s out of the building and it looks like the fire’s pretty much out,” she reported.

Kaldur nodded, catching a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see a horned silhouette enter an elevator.

“That’s weird. Why haven’t the elevators been shut down due to the fire?” Wally asked.

“This is a two story building,” Robin said with a frown. “There shouldn’t be an elevator even installed. Unless… Kaldur, help me get these doors open.”

Kaldur nodded, prying the doors open and peering down into the dark elevator shaft. It went down much deeper than necessary for a two story building…

“I knew it. This is an express elevator! The real Cadmus - the one the League is worried about - is underneath the building!” Robin exclaimed, readying his grappling hook. “Come on, let’s see what else they’re hiding from us.”

He jumped into the elevator shaft, lowering himself down using his grappling hook.

Wally smiled and followed suit, sliding down the rope with Kaldur taking up the rear.

“I’m at the end of my rope,” Robin said once he couldn’t lower himself anymore.

Wally let out an audible groan at the pun, but otherwise stayed quiet about it.

He swung over to the edge of the elevator door, Wally following him and Kaldur following her.

Kaldur pried the door open, all three stepping inside and looking around.

“Woah… This place is so much cooler than the Hall!” Wally said excitedly running ahead to get a better look at things.

“Kid, wait! It could be dangerous!”

“I’ll be fine- Woah!”

She came to a halt as a group of large beasts came down the hall, Wally rushing to the side of the hallway before she accidentally got crushed.

Once the beasts had passed by, she ran back over to her friends.

“Please, be more careful, Kid…” Kaldur said, looking relieved that she wasn’t hurt.

“Sorry. What were those things, anyway? I’ve never seen anything like them!”

“I dunno…” Robin mumbled, looking thoughtful for a moment before a smirk spread across his lips. “But I bet we’ll find out if we keep exploring.”

“We have already completed our main mission. Perhaps we should leave before we get into any more trouble,” Kaldur suggested.

His proposal fell on deaf ears as his teammates were already hurrying off to find out more about the real Cadmus.

He let out a sigh, running after them so as not to be left behind.

He ended up following them into a different room, a bunch of strange looking creatures in tubes seeming to be powering the facility.

“This place has its own power source. It’s off the grid!” Robin said excitedly, hooking up his wrist computer to a monitor in the middle of the room and starting to download data off of it. “Hm… looks like all these things are called Genomorphs… There’s a whole bunch of them! Each of them for different uses!”

“So they’re making living weapons…” Wally said, looking over the information with Robin. “Hey, wait, stop! What’s that?”

“Project Kr… Sounds suspicious. It’s heavily encrypted though. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pull much info from it…” Robin said, working on trying to crack the code anyway.

“Kr… The periodic symbol for Krypton…” Wally muttered to herself, her mind already working on trying to figure out what this meant. “Are they performing experiments with Kryptonite? Or maybe with things regarding Superman? Hmm… So many possible branches this one bit of information provides and no answers just yet…”

“Hey!” The shout caused all of them to jump, turning to see Guardian standing in the doorway. “What’re you kids doing here? Where are your mentors?”

They all glanced at each other, hoping someone would come up with a good excuse as to why they were here.

No one had a convincing lie.

“Look, you kids can’t be down here. I’m going to need to take you back up to the surface and call-”

Guardian suddenly stopped talking, Wally noticing that the G-Gnome on his shoulder had glowing eyes and horns.

And then Guardian turned hostile.

“Get them! Don’t let them escape!” he ordered, a few Genomorphs starting to close in on the sidekicks.

Robin threw down a smoke pellet, grabbing Wally’s hand and running in the opposite direction of Guardian.

Wally reached back and grabbed Kaldur’s hand, pulling him along as they escaped to somewhere safer.

Safe wasn’t really an option, but it was better to run than to be captured.

They found themselves at the elevator again, Robin immediately beginning to hack into the door in order to get them away from Guardian.

“Anytime now, Rob!” Wally called out as she ran by, fighting off Genomorphs alongside Kaldur.

“Almost got it…” Robin mumbled to himself as he worked on his wrist computer. The elevator doors opened, Robin disconnecting from it. “Get inside! Now!”

Wally grabbed Kaldur by the back of his shirt and pulled him inside the elevator, the doors closing just before a Genomorph could stop it.

As the elevator started moving, Wally found something odd about their trip inside.

“...This is going down. Out is up… Rob, where are you taking us?”

“The way out may be up, but Project Kr is further down. We’re going to investigate what this project is before we get out of here. I have a feeling the League has no idea that Cadmus is conducting this…”

“Mm…” Wally looked unsure about his plan. It was strange, seeing her so unwilling to find some new scientific breakthrough or secret that she shouldn’t know. But she really had no choice in the matter right now. “Okay… but as soon as we find out what it is, we should leave. We’re probably already in enough trouble as it is.”

“If we encounter more trouble while on this little adventure of yours, Robin, I believe it would be best to contact the League for extraction,” Kaldur said, his tone making it clear that he wouldn’t budge on this decision.

“Fine. Hopefully this doesn’t take long so we can get out of here and get this information to the League.”

The elevator finally came to a stop, the sidekicks exiting and looking around.

“...These walls look really gross,” Wally muttered. “But this is a totally different place from the last floor we were on. Should I go have a look around? See if I can find anything?”

“Do not go off on your own,” Kaldur said sternly. “We don’t know what could be down here.”

“Alright, jeez. We’ll stick together and figure out where this Project Kr is hidden,” Wally grumbled, pulling her goggles down over her eyes and scanning for any threats. “...Looks like the immediate area is clear of anything considered a threat. Which way do we go now, Rob?”

“...Well, there seems to be only one hallway, so… this way.”

They walked through the corridor, looking around for anything. Even a door would be nice to see.

“...Did we get stuck in a never-ending hallway or something?” Wally asked, still keeping an eye out for any threats up ahead. “Oh! Nevermind! There’s a door just up ahead. And incoming threats behind us. Looks like some Genomorphs, Guardian, some weird guy with two horns and… a doctor looking dude.”

“How soon until they catch up?” Kaldur asked.

“Uh… soon enough that we should probably pick up the pace. By a lot.”

Wally set the new pace for their journey down the hallway, running a bit ahead of the boys and looking for the door. She finally spotted it, grabbing Robin and pushing him ahead of her.

“Open it, Rob!”

“On it! Jeez, you’re pushy today!” Robin said, hooking up his wrist computer and starting to hack into the door to open it. “The security is surprisingly lax down here! It’s open! Get inside and I’ll lock it so they can’t get in!”

Wally was the first inside, looking around at the control panel in the room and observing the odd person-sized tube in front of it.

Once the door was shut, she spoke up about her findings.

“Hey, come check this out! This pod says ‘Kr’ on it!”

Her comrades gathered around the pod, observing it carefully.

“Wonder what’s inside…” Robin said absently.

Wally hummed, looking around the control panel and sliding a switch up, lighting up the pod from the inside to reveal

“Superman?!”

“...No, he is much too young to be Superman,” Kaldur observed.”Perhaps we should contact the League. We may be in over our heads.”

“No dice,” Robin said. “We have no signal down here. It’s just us and the not-Superman.”

Kaldur nodded his understanding, looking at the Superman lookalike in the pod.

“Kid, can you find a way to release him from the pod?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked. “I mean, he’s got some of those G-Gnome things in there with him… From what I observed with Guardian, they use telepathy or something to control the minds of whoever they’re currently in contact with. And he has three of them.”

“We will be fine. We made it this far on our own. But I will not stand to see Cadmus use him as a weapon.”

“...Okay…” she said softly, not wanting to argue with him about it.

She played with a few buttons on the panel before finally figuring out which one would open the pod, hesitating for a moment before pressing it.

The pod opened, the younger-looking Superman falling out of it. Kaldur quickly caught him before he hit the ground, steadying him as he woke up.

No one said anything, watching and waiting to see what he would do.

Though, it seemed no one had any say in what was about to happen.

The G-Gnomes that were in the pod started to glow, the Superman lookalike grew hostile.

Despite the three of them being trained sidekicks with the abilities to protect themselves, they were simply no match for the strength of Superman.

Knocked unconscious, they were left at the mercy of Cadmus. 


	12. Fireworks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I found out while doing research on the plot points of this episode and what happened between the end of the Cadmus incident and the formation of the Team that Superboy stayed with Wally for those three days and I think that's neat.

Wally jolted awake, shaking her head slightly to clear it and looking around.

Her arms and legs were restrained and she seemed to be trapped in some kind of pod.

Exactly like the Superman clone had been trapped in.

She heard groans from either side of her, assuming her friends were in the same situation

She caught movement in front of her, eyes naturally drawn to it.

There was the clone, just staring at them silently.

“Uh…” Wally started to say. “Why is he staring at us?”

The clone frowned at that, looking a bit offended.

“ _ He  _ can talk.”

Robin and Kaldur both looked at her.

“What? It’s not like I called him an it!”

“Regardless,” Kaldur said. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Aqualad. This Kid Flash and Robin. What may we call you?”

The clone’s features relaxed slightly at this as he pondered the question.

“...Superboy.”

“Superboy… Very well. Can you tell us about your life here at Cadmus?”

“...They taught me about everything. How to read, how to write, about the outside world… and about Superman,” Superboy said.

“Okay, but have you ever seen any of the stuff they’ve shown you?” Robin asked. “‘Cause we can get you out of here to see it.”

“No!” Superboy shouted. “Cadmus is my home!”

Wally flinched slightly at the volume of his voice, but kept a calm look on her face.

“Well… what’s the one thing you’ve wanted to see for yourself?” she asked.

Superboy paused, seeming to think this over.

“...The moon. I want to see the moon.”

“Well, we can show you the moon! And we know Superman, so we can introduce you to Superman!” she said, grinning slightly.

“You can?”

“Totally! We just need to get out of Cadmus and then we can look at the moon all we want!”

“Don’t listen to them, Superboy!” the doctor from before said. “They can’t introduce you to Superman.”

“Killjoy…” Wally muttered under her breath.

“Dr. Spence, Dubbilex, start the cloning procedure and download their memories. Then destroy the originals. Guardian, escort the clone back to its pod.”

Wally watched carefully as Dr. Spence pressed a few buttons, managing to get a glimpse of the screen and what was displayed on it, storing that information in her head for later.

So absorbed in trying to read as much off the screen as possible, she failed to notice the needles beside her until they pierced through her suit and into her skin.

She might have been screaming, but she couldn’t hear it over the ringing in her ears and her thoughts frantically taking notes on her condition.

“Hey, KF! Earth to Kid Flash!”

“Huh?”

Wally blinked and found herself out of the pod with Robin in front of her and Kaldur and Superboy nearby.

“You don’t need to write down what just happened. Forget about it, you don’t need to keep those injury notebooks anymore, remember? Focus on the mission and let’s get Superboy out of here.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“You’re right. But we might wanna get rid of the DNA samples they took from us. There’s only room for one traumatized speedster around these parts.”

“Already on it. Aqualad! Get us back to the elevator!” Robin called out, throwing explosive batarangs at their pods. As he ran after his comrades, he triggered the explosives, smirking and laughing as he destroyed the blood samples.

“Capture them! Don’t let them escape!” the doctor called out, Genomorphs closing in on their location, blocking their path to the elevator.

“How do we get around them?” Wally asked, coming to a halt.

“I am unsure. There does not seem to be another way to go,” Kaldur said, looking around.

“Um, I think Superboy has his own idea…” Robin put in, gesturing at the path he had just cleared through the Genomorphs.

“...That works. Let’s go,” Wally said, wasting no time to follow Superboy.

Robin hacked into the elevator door, forcing it open and shooting his grappling hook up into the shaft.

“Superboy!” Wally called out. “Let’s get out of here!”

“KF! Hang on, I’ll grapple us up!” Robin said, holding out his arm to her.

She looped her arms around his neck, kicking off the edge of the elevator door as they started to grapple up.

“I can’t… fly?” she heard Superboy say softly, confusion evident in his voice.

“Woah, hey! Watch your hands!” Robin exclaimed as Wally dug around in his utility belt, taking out a batarang and tossing it down onto the elevator shaft walls near Kaldur’s hand.

The four kids climbed up the elevator shaft, Wally providing Kaldur with more batarangs to hold onto whenever he asked for them.

She saw Superboy frown and tilt his head as if listening for something.

“...The elevator is dropping. We need to get out of here,” he said.

Robin nodded, clenching his jaw when he couldn’t reach his wrist computer without dropping Wally.

“I’ve got it,” she said, reaching up and pressing a few buttons, opening the door to sublevel 15.

They quickly exited the elevator shaft, the elevator falling just as Kaldur climbed out.

“Well, getting nearly murdered by an elevator is definitely a first for me,” Wally said, pursing her lips. “Let’s hope it’s the only time.”

She pulled her goggles down, scanning for threats and heat signatures.

“We’ve got incoming Genomorphs as well as Guardian and that crazy doctor guy. But which way do we go?”

Pushing her goggles up, she saw Superboy tilting his head ever so slightly. But what was he listening to?

“This way,” he finally said, running off in a direction.

“Better than standing here waiting to be captured,” Robin said with a shrug, running after Superboy.

“I am just unsure if he does know a way out,” Kaldur said, running alongside Wally. “He did confess that he has never been outside that pod before.”

“It’s our best bet,” Wally said, shooting him a reassuring smile. “And I trust him. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do, my friend. You have never steered me wrong before,” Kaldur said. “If you trust Superboy to find us an exit, then I will trust in your faith in him.”

“I have a good feeling about him! He’s like me, in a way, so I want to believe he’s not a bad person!”

“Like you? Care to explain?”

“If we make it out of here alive, I’ll tell you.”

Kaldur smiled and shook his head slightly, holding out his arm to stop her when he noticed Superboy and Robin had stopped.

“A dead end…” Wally muttered. “Now what? We’ve got threats closing in on our location and nowhere to run.”

“Maybe we do have a place to run…” Robin said, smirking and pointing up at a ventilation act. “KF, give me a boost so I can get the cover off.”

“On it.” Wally clasped her hands together, palms up. Robin stepped up onto her hands, undoing the screws on the vent cover and climbing inside. “I guess we do smallest to biggest. Kaldur, help me up.”

One by one, the sidekicks climbed into the vent, crawling through it as Robin used a map to help them find an appropriate exit.

“What if they manage to meet us at the exit?” Kaldur asked.

“No need to worry about that,” Robin said, Kaldur practically hearing the smirk in his voice. “I hacked into the motion sensors. Here’s our stop.”

Robin climbed out of the vent first, stepping away to let everyone else out.

Wally took a few steps forward, looking around the immediate area and spotting the door to the stairwell.

“Stairs! See you at the top!” she said, grinning and running ahead, taking out any Genomorphs in her way. She heard the sound of things breaking behind her, glancing back to see Superboy destroying the stairs so no one could follow them.

Shouldering her way through the door to sublevel 1, Wally kept going, seeing a door ahead.

A door that was closing rapidly.

“Shit…”

She tried to slow down or even come to stop, but was unable to before colliding with the now closed door.

“Okay… Ow…” She shook her head, rubbing her face where it hit the door. “Rob, think you can get it open before we’re caught?”

“I can try, but this one’s more heavily encrypted than the other doors.”

“We may not have the time,” Kaldur said. “We have company.”

Wally remembered being ready to fight, the horns on the G-Gnomes glowing.

And then waking up to no Genomorphs, no Guardian, and no Superboy.

“...But it looks like he added a skylight,” she commented, pointing at the new hole in the ceiling. “And he’s having some fun without us, judging by the sounds of fighting up there.”

There was a small pause.

“I’m gonna go help him.” Without waiting for a response from her comrades, she jumped up and used Kaldur’s shoulder as a step to get through the hole in the ceiling.

“Wait, Kid! It could be dangerous!” Kaldur called out.

“Definitely dangerous!” she called back. “That crazy doctor turned into an actual monster and Superboy is getting his ass handed to him!”

“Where did she learn that language from?” Kaldur asked as he and Robin climbed through the hole.

“Who else would teach her to curse?”

“Of course.. I should have known Speedy did it.”

“Hey, I’m 15!” she protested. “I should be allowed to curse! Besides, this is an appropriate situation!”

“...Fair point. Let’s go.”

The trio hurried in to assist Superboy, though found themselves quickly outmatched. Robin watched as Kaldur was thrown into one of the support beams, an idea quickly coming to him.

“KF! I’ve got a plan!”

“Lay it on me, Rob!” she said, hurrying over to his side.

He brought up a map of the area, pointing out the support beams.

“If we destroy all of these, we should be able to defeat him.”

“By bringing the whole building down on top of him?” Wally asked. “Sounds great, I’m in. I’ll tell Kaldur and Superboy!”

“I’ll tell them. You get the good doctor to destroy a pillar himself.”

Wally nodded, running in front of the doctor and blowing a raspberry at him.

“Hey, ugly! Come and get me!”

He made a grab for her, but she quickly moved in front of the closest pillar.

“Over here! You missed me!” she teased, pulling her lower eyelid down and sticking her tongue out.

She laughed as he swung at her, running out of the way and to a safe distance away as he destroyed the pillar.

“Aqualad! Superboy! Destroy those two pillars!” Robin ordered, pointing them out to his teammates.

A pool of water spread onto the floor, Wally grinning as she led the doctor to the middle before running out of his sight. Superboy smirked and jumped up, hitting him hard in the chest.

The doctor stumbled back a bit, his legs hitting Wally - who had been on her hands and knees behind him - causing him to trip and fall into the water.

“Ha! Learned that one in kindergarten!” she said, running over to her friends as Kaldur electrocuted the water.

The last pillar exploded, Superboy and Kaldur shielding their friends as the roof caved in on them.

“Alright, who’s not dead? Sound off…” Robin groaned once the dust cleared.

“It seems as if we got away with minor injuries,” Kaldur said, getting to his feet and helping Robin up.

Superboy stood as well, picking Wally up and setting her onto her feet.

“Oh, wow, unexpected but definitely not unwanted,” she said, her cheeks dusted pink. “Thanks, Superboy. Oh, look!”

Pointing at the sky, she drew everyone’s attention upwards.

“I promised to show you the moon, right? Well, there it is!”

Superboy squinted, the speck he saw getting closer and closer.

“Oh no…” Wally muttered.

“Is that the whole League?” Robin whispered.

“It seems we are in a lot of trouble for this one,” Kaldur said. “But let us stand our ground.”

“I didn’t want you to meet Superman like this…” Wally whispered to Superboy.

Once the League made it to the ground, Superboy stepped forward, showing off the symbol on his ruined suit.

“I’m a clone of Superman.”

Murmurs broke amongst the League, most looking at Superman. Batman frowned and stepped toward them.

“Talk.”

Kaldur did damage control with Batman, explaining what happened and what their original plan was.

Wally stayed with Superboy, talking quietly with him and urging him to go speak with Superman. And judging from the way Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter were talking with Superman, they were doing the same.

“I don’t even know what to say to him, Kid Flash…”

“Just start with ‘Hi’ and work your way from there! I’ll be right behind you for moral support! I promise! First meetings are always a little awkward, anyway. Ask Rob, he’ll tell you!”

Superboy still looked a bit unsure, but nodded and turned to walk over to Superman, surprised to see him meeting him halfway. He glanced behind him, Wally standing within earshot and giving him a thumbs up.

“Er…” Superman started to say, both looking awkward. “We’ll uh… We’ll figure something out for you.”

A spark of hope flashed across Superboy’s face.

“Uh, the League will, I mean.”

That hope vanished.

“For now, I better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away.”

Without letting Superboy get a single word in, Superman flew away.

“Aw, I’m sorry, buddy…” Wally said, patting him on the shoulder. “Maybe he just needs some time to process all of this…”

“Yeah, maybe…”

“Kid, Superboy,” Kaldur called out. They looked to see Kaldur motioning for them to huddle back in with Batman.

“What you three did was dangerous and reckless. Not only did you disobey direct orders from me, you hacked Justice League systems and endangered many lives today. Including your own,” Batman said, glaring down at all of them. “From now on, you will only go where your mentors go. You will never be permitted to go off on your own or on missions not including your mentors. Do I make myself clear?”

“Now hold on a minute!” Wally shouted. “You keep saying we’re not ready - whatever that means - and just now, when we prevented Cadmus from treating Superboy like a weapon and shutting down whatever other dangerous operations they had going on, you’re saying we’re still not ready?! I think we’ve proved ourselves more than ready to be our own team!”

“Kid Flash is correct,” Kaldur said, stepping up beside her.

“Kaldur?” Aquaman said, genuinely surprised he was still disobeying a League member.

“My apologies, my king, but I cannot stand by and let this happen. We are ready for this.”

Robin nodded, taking his place next to them.

“Sure, we did some shady things by going behind your backs, but we got more than our original mission done. We’re ready for our own team. We’re ready to operate on our own. Isn’t that what you all trained us for?!”

Superboy stepped in front of all three sidekicks, staring down Batman.

“We’re a team,” he said. “Either get on board, or get out of the way.”

Batman narrowed his eyes more, glancing at each of their defiant expressions.

“...I’ll need some time to think this over. Give me three days and I’ll have your answer. For now, each of you head home and get some rest if you can. Robin, let’s go. We need to have a talk.”

“If I don’t message either of you, assume I’m dead,” Robin muttered to his friends as he followed Batman.

“What shall we do with our new friend here?” Kaldur asked. “He has nowhere to go.”

“He can stay with me!” Wally said, grinning widely. “I’ve got so much to show him in three days and Central is just the place to get acquainted with the world!”

“Kid, I didn’t agree to that,” Flash said as he appeared beside them. “I mean, what would-”

“Frankly, I don’t care much for your opinion right now. And I don’t know if I wanna talk to you. Just tell her we have a guest for a few days and don’t wait up,” Wally said, her tone curt and to the point as she cut Flash off. “Come on, Superboy. I think there’s a Zeta tube nearby that we can use. I’ll see you around, Kaldur. Have a safe trip home, okay?”

“I will certainly make the attempt,” Kaldur said, grabbing Flash’s arm when he went to follow them. “I would give her some space for now. She was quite… upset that you did not inform her about the Watchtower. And she feels quite strongly that she and Superboy are one and the same. Do not argue with her and get on her bad side more than you already are.”

“Did she… tell you all of this?” he asked.

“I witnessed her tantrum after you had all left, but she did not need to tell me the rest. She was very insistent that we trust Superboy and she seemed more upset about the reveal of the Watchtower than the rest of us. I will not ask what agreement you two have regarding secrets, but you have clearly violated it. I would not argue with her on this.”

“Aunt Iris, I’m home! Sorry for being out so late…” Wally said as she stepped inside and removed her cowl. “I brought a friend, too.”

“Oh, Wally! You had me so worried when Barry said you and the others had gone missing!” Iris said, hugging her tight and gently stroking her hair. “What were you three thinking?!”

“...That all of this training would go to waste if we never got the chance to prove ourselves… Oh! We found a new friend while we were in Cadmus!” Wally said, pulling away with a smile as she gestured at Superboy. “This is Superboy! He doesn’t have anywhere to go, so I offered to let him stay here until the League figures out something more permanent for him! Is that alright?”

“Uh, sure… Are you two hungry? Tired? Are either of you hurt?” Iris asked, looking them over.

“Only minor injuries…” Superboy muttered. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You as well, Superboy. Come, it’s still a bit early, but I’ll make you two breakfast.”

“After breakfast, I’ll take you on a tour of Central City! Uh… after we get you some new clothes… And you can call me Wally! I’m not as strict about secret identities like certain heroes from Gotham.”

Superboy looked over at Wally, giving her a tiny smile.

“I’d like that. Thanks, Wally.”


	13. Stopover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had this idea and I rolled with it, so two chapters in two days! Yay!

“Barry, what did you do?” Iris interrogated, cornering him in the kitchen while Wally and Superboy watched TV in the living room, blissfully unaware of what was going on a room over. “Wally hasn’t said a word to you since Cadmus. For a little bit, I chalked it up to her taking care of Superboy, but she doesn’t even respond when you greet her.”

“Uh… well… I may have, um…” Barry said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I may have violated our agreement to not keep secrets from each other… by not telling her about the League’s real headquarters.”

“Barry-”

“Kaldur told me not to argue with her and give her some space. I’m not going to force her to talk to me. She’ll talk when she’s ready, you know that.”

“I know, it’s just…” Iris let out a sigh. “She hasn’t refused to speak to someone in years. She must be really upset about this…”

“Hey, Superboy, can I show you something?” Wally asked, smiling at him and getting to her feet. “But you have to promise not to tell anyone what it is.”

“Sure. Where is it?”

“Up in my room! Let’s go!”

She offered him her hand, still smiling widely. Superboy took her hand, deciding it was best she didn’t know about the conversation in the kitchen.

If Barry thought it was best she worked this out on her own, Superboy wasn’t going to intervene.

She led him upstairs and into her room, shutting the door behind them.

Digging under her bed, she popped out with two boxes. One was labeled with her name and the other simply said ‘Friends’ on it.

“I keep notebooks on things that happen in my life and on the people I meet!” she explained, opening the box labeled ‘Friends’ first. “I even have notebooks on all of the League members! See? I even started one for you! There’s not much in there right now, but we haven’t known each other that long! Here, you can look through it!”

She handed him the notebook in her hands, her smile widened when he took it.

“You can also read the ones on Kaldur and Robin if you want!”

Superboy nodded, looking at the cover of the notebook in his hands.

It was a black notebook that she had taped a paper with Superman’s symbol on it - clearly hand drawn - with ‘Superboy’ written above it.

Opening to the first - and only filled out page, judging by the information on it - he looked at what she had written down.

It was basic information on him, as well as a quick note that he was staying with her and she was excited about it.

At the very bottom of the page were a couple photos that she had taken of him, one he wasn’t aware of.

One was just a basic photo of him labelled as a reference.

The other was him asleep in her closet, standing upright like he was still in his pod.

_ SB sleeps like this. It’s kinda funny, but also kinda sad… I’ll teach him that he doesn’t have to do that anymore and he can sleep on a bed! _

“...So I take it you didn’t want to just show me these ones, right?” he said, setting his notebook back in the box.

“I actually wanted to show you these ones… but I also wanted you to know that I was keeping a notebook on you. Here,” she said, handing him a notebook.

‘Wally West: A Summary’

“It would take too long for you to look through all of these, so I made one that as a shortened version of what’s in all of these…”

“...You don’t have to show me this if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“I know. But the subject matter will make me uncomfortable for the rest of my life. There’s no avoiding that. I told you that we’re cut from the same cloth. That notebook will tell you everything I can’t say.”

“Are you afraid to say it or can you just… not get the words out?”

Wally took a deep breath, clenching her hands to keep them from shaking.

“I’ve never been able to verbalize what exactly happened to me. So I use notebooks to communicate what won’t come out of my mouth and to distract me from what had happened. If you still have questions after looking through that notebook, you can tell Kaldur and Robin that they have my permission to tell you what they know. Normally, I’d point you toward Roy, but… he hasn’t been answering his phone…”

He nodded and didn’t pry further about this Roy person.

According to Iris and Barry, she’d talk when she was ready.

Instead he opened the notebook and began to read through it.

Silence filled the space between them. Superboy quietly read and Wally was busying herself with updating Roy’s notebook. As well as Barry’s that she had dug out from a different box.

“...So where are your parents now?” Superboy asked, setting the notebook down.

“I don’t know and I don’t care. As long as they don’t come near me,” she said, not looking from Barry’s notebook. “But you can see why I think we’re similar. Neither of us know how to be a normal person…”

“You seem pretty normal to me,” he said.

“Thanks, but you also haven’t met actual normal people. Robin and Kaldur aren’t good comparisons,” she replied. “So if you notice any weird habits that I do, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t comment on them. Especially the notebook thing… It’s a coping mechanism and I don’t want to get rid of it…”

“Why would I make fun of things that make you feel more comfortable about situations?” he asked. “I don’t have the right to judge you like that. If writing in a notebook helps you process things, who’s gonna stop you? It’s not hurting anyone.”

“See, I knew you’d understand,” Wally said, finally looking up at him. “Rob said you might not understand where I’m coming from, but I knew just by looking at you that we’re the same. How about we make a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“If either one of us starts developing unhealthy coping mechanisms, we’ll stop each other before it gets bad.”

“...Alright. That sounds reasonable.”

“Wally?” Iris said from the other side of the door. “Something came in the mail for you.”

“That’s weird. I never get mail,” she said, getting to her feet and opening the door. “Who is it from?”

“It says it’s from Bruce Wayne.”

“How many times do I have to tell him I’m not gonna take his internship…?” Wally mumbled, taking the envelope. “Thanks, Aunt Iris.”

“No problem, sweetie. Why don’t you take Superboy on another trip around Central City? I think the mall is open today.”

“Sure thing! We’ll go after I find out what Mr. Wayne wants.”

“Are you going to walk or do you want me to drive you two?”

“We’ll take a walk! I wanna get some hot chocolate from Jitters, anyway!”

“Alright. Just make sure you’re both home by dinner time.”

“Will do!” Wally said with a grin, stepping back and opening the envelope.

A credit card fell out, Wally picking it up curiously.

“...This is an interesting gift… What’s it for?” she mumbled to herself, looking at the letter attached.

_ For expenses. _

“Expenses… That must mean stuff for you, Superboy. Go get that jacket I gave you and let’s go shopping!”

Superboy nodded, helping her put the boxes back under her bed before grabbing his jacket and zipping it up to hide his torn suit.

“How are you enjoying life above ground?” she asked as they walked toward Jitters. “Better than Cadmus?”

“Definitely better than Cadmus… It’s interesting to finally see everything they taught me. But I don’t think they ever taught me anything about Jitters…”

“That’s because it’s a Central City classic! Only found right here!”

“I’ll miss it if I don’t end up staying in Central.”

“Who says you can’t come hang out with me if that happens?” Wally said with a wide smile. “Kaldur and Robin come by sometimes to hang out, so you’re more than welcome to join us!”

“I think I’ll do that. So where are we going now and why does it require you to hold my hand?” he asked, sipping his hot chocolate with his free hand.

“We’re going to the mall to get you some new clothes! A new look will be a good first step to semi-normalcy!”

“Only semi-normalcy?”

“Listen, I’m not an expert in normal. I will never be an expert in normal. All I can do is ensure that you don’t end up too messed up that you can’t function. Do you want something Superman related?” she asked as they entered the mall and led him to Sixteen Forever.

“Uh… Sure, I guess…”

“All the Justice League stuff is over here. It’s where I get some of the stuff I own!”

Superboy nodded, following her further into the store. He let her hold up shirts to his torso, asking his opinion on them and picking out a few sizes.

“I think the black Superman shirt will look great on you,” she said, leading him over to the jean section. “Now you need new pants. And probably underwear but I don’t know anything about that.”

“So, how long have you been a fan of the Justice League?” he asked, holding onto whatever she put into his hands. “You seem to be knowledgeable of them.”

“I’ve been a fan since I was little. The Flash was always my favorite, especially since he was my hometown hero,” she explained. “I always hoped that maybe if I wished hard enough, a member of the League would come rescue me, but that didn’t happen… But I’m glad it was Roy and the others who came to get me out. I never had friends before them…”

“Who is Roy, exactly? You mentioned him before…”

“Roy Harper was…  _ is  _ another sidekick like us. He went by Speedy and worked with Green Arrow, but he got really angry when he was denied membership into the League and quit being a sidekick… We were really close and he was my first ever friend - more of a brother, really - but after what happened at the Hall of Justice, he won’t talk to me.”

“...You think he doesn’t care about you anymore.” It wasn’t a question.

“Today is not the day for feeling sorry for myself,” Wally said, shaking her head a bit to clear her thoughts. “We’re here to get you some new clothes. Come on, you have to try everything on to see what fits right.”

Superboy rolled his eyes playfully as Wally pushed him over to the fitting rooms, starting to strip out of his suit. He could hear Wally talking with someone - a worker, maybe - outside and then she walked away with them.

“Yo, Superboy!” she said outside the door. “I figured out how to shop for boy’s underwear!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! Here!”

A pack of underwear came flying over the top of the door, Superboy catching it.

After a few more minutes of changing, he stepped out in a black Superman shirt and blue jeans. And no shoes.

“Ooh, looking good. But we’re gonna have to get you some shoes, too,” Wally said. “Can you get the shoe portion of your suit off for now? I don’t think mall security would appreciate you walking around barefoot…”

He nodded, tearing off the bottom of his suit and pulling on the shoe parts.

“Great! Let’s go find more in your size and check out! Once we find out what size shoe you wear, it’ll be easier to pick out socks, too… Mm… I didn't realize how difficult it was buying clothes from the ground up! Aunt Iris used to do all of my clothes shopping up until recently.”

“I think you’re doing fine.”

“Thanks! I’m really trying!” she said, grinning at him. “So, since we have a credit card from Mr. Wayne himself, what do you say to just buying every black Superman shirt in your size? We could certainly afford it.”

“I say it sounds like fun.”

“Then let’s get started!”

The two set off, grabbing every single identical shirt in Superboy’s size and even the pants and underwear packs, earning them a lot of strange looks as they walked up to the register.

“Good afternoon, ma’am!” Wally cheerily greeted. “We’ll be taking all of these, please! My friend really likes Superman! Sorry in advance for all the trouble.”

Baffled and speechless, the cashier rang up each and every article of clothing, Wally offering apologies for the amount every now and then.

Not even blinking at the total, Wally swiped the credit card she was given, smiling widely as Superboy took the bags.

“Thank you! Have a nice day!” Wally said as they left the store. “Okay, next stop is a shoe store! I think a nice pair of boots will really pull everything together! Something steel toe…”

“Why steel toe? I’m pretty sure my toes are already considered made of steel.”

“More effective kicks when fighting enemies. Plus they look cool and I want you to look cool.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Okay, let’s see… How do you figure out what size shoe you wear?” Wally mumbled to herself, looking at all the different sizes.

“Excuse me. Do you need any help?” a worker asked.

“Yes! My friend, here, is looking to get a pair of combat boots, but we don’t know what size he wears! How do we figure that out?”

“Oh, well, I can help you with that! Please, sit right here, sir!”

The worker measured Superboy’s foot, smiling when they found his size.

“...But with boots, you’re going to want to try a half size or full size up just in case. Anything else I can help you with today?”

“No thank you! We can take it from here!”

Wally smiled and started pulling a few pairs of boots off the shelves.

“You pick a color and I’ll be right back after I find some socks! This is so much fun, we should do this more often!”

She ran off before he could reply, disappearing into the back of the store.

He let out a breath, deciding that the brown boots were more his style.

“SB, you’re not gonna believe what I found!” Wally said, holding a few packs of socks and a shoe box. “They had exclusive Flash shoes in my size! I’m definitely getting them!”

“Good for you. I like the brown boots, so…”

“Oh, right. Here’s some socks and I’ll get you the three different sizes! Let’s see…”

She set down the shoe box and pile of socks, finding the sizes she needed and pulling out the boxes.

“Here. Try on all three pairs and let me know which one fits the best! I’ll put the other ones away while you do that!”

She set the boot boxes down by his legs, picking up the ones he wasn’t trying on and carefully putting them back in their spots.

Once they were satisfied with their choices, they checked out and started to just wander around the mall.

“...So, I told Rob-”

“Hey, what’s going on over there?” Superboy said, interrupting her story and pointing at a nearby store.

“Looks like trouble. Here, disguise yourself with this so no one knows who we are,” she said, pulling out two bandanas. “I started carrying these after Roy mentioned something about quick disguises before… Anyway, wear it like a face mask and let’s take down those Terror Twins!”

Superboy nodded, copying the way she tied it around her mouth and nose before following her into the store.

A fight broke out, Wally and Superboy managing to hold their own against the Terror Twins until one of them threw Superboy through the wall, taking their fight outside.

“Superboy! Hey, that’s my friend! Get away from him!” Wally shouted, rushing forward to help him.

A streak of red cut her off, Wally coming to a stop and huffing irritably when she saw Superman and the Flash coming to their rescue.

“We had it handled, thanks!” Wally said, tearing off her bandana face mask and narrowing her eyes at Barry. “I didn’t need your help!”

“Kid, I came looking for you to tell you something, but we saw the fight and-”

“Tell me what you need to say and then leave me alone.”

Barry sighed, but didn’t argue further about this.

“Batman has made his decision. You and Superboy, along with the other sidekicks, will meet at Mount Justice tomorrow morning, so make sure you go home and get some rest. Direct orders.”

“...Fine. Let’s go home, Superboy. Do we have all our bags?”

“Yeah, I’ve got everything.”

Wally nodded, leading him away from the mall and away from Barry.

Superboy glanced down at her, noting the frustrated look on her face despite the news they just got.

“...Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“...We agreed not to keep secrets from each other and he went behind my back and kept one anyway. He knows how much I know about the League and yet he couldn’t trust me with the information that they have a secret headquarters in space called the Watchtower.”

“You can’t stay mad at him forever.”

“If he keeps his distance, I won’t have to stay mad forever.”

He let out a breath, deciding it was best not to push her any further.

She knew how to deal with her problems and, as long as she wasn’t hurting anyone, he wouldn’t step in and stop her.

“Oh… Aunt Iris says we can pick something up from Big Belly Burger since it’s getting late… Did I show you Big Belly Burger yet?”

“We walked by it the first time you took me on a tour.”

“...We’re gonna order so much food. You’re trying everything and I’ll eat whatever you don’t.”

“...I’ve seen how much you eat and I’m a little intimidated by that…”

“As you should! I’m a growing speedster.”

“You’re not that much taller than Robin and he’s two years younger than you.”

“Not the point! Not the point at all! I’m still growing, I swear! Rob is just short! I’m not short!”

“You seem pretty short to me.”

“You don’t get a say in this! You’re a clone of Superman and Superman is too tall! Just like Batman, but Batman just intimidates me too much to say anything to his face.”

“But you’re not scared of Superman?” Superboy asked, an amused smile on his face.

“Are you kidding? Compared to Batman, he’s like your friendly neighbor! I have a lot of feelings on the various League members. Do you wanna hear them?”

“Talk to me while we get dinner.”

“Great! So, Wonder Woman, right? She’s fantastic and I am so jealous of her hair! I kinda want her to teach me how she fights ‘cause wow, y’know? But on the other hand…”


	14. The Team

“Superboy, are you ready to go? Batman might get mad if we’re late,” Wally called from downstairs as she dug through her backpack to ensure all notebooks on her friends were there as well as art supplies and a few blank ones just in case. “Superboy! Jeez, I sound like Aunt Iris when I’m getting ready for school…”

“You left your notebook boxes out, so I put them away. But,” Superboy said as he finally came down the steps. “Do you mind if I borrow this one for a bit?”

He held up the notebook in his hand, a blue one with a red Superman symbol drawn on it.

“Sure! Make sure you take care of it and give it right back once you’re done! And I always appreciate any notes someone might have, so feel free to add them!” she said, grinning widely. “But I’m not sure if it’ll help you understand him on a personal level. A lot of the League notebooks are purely from an impersonal and scientific viewpoint.”

“Trust me, it’ll help. Let’s get going.”

“I bet he said yes. Do you think he said yes?” Wally asked, a bounce in her step as she and Superboy left her home. “I mean, why else would he tell us to meet at Mount Justice!”

“We’ll find out when we get there, won’t we?”

“You know, I know I was getting all bummed out over Roy not talking to me anymore, but… hanging out with you and you putting up with my weirdness… It reminds me of when Roy and I would hang out.”

“...” Superboy glanced down at her, meeting her eye and giving her a tiny smile. “If you ever miss him too much, I’ll come hang out with you.”

“Aw, that’s sweet of you.”

“Or I could beat him up for not talking to you. That’s always an option.”

“Unnecessary, but thanks.”

“But my offer still stands if you need it.”

“Uh… I think I can knock some sense into him myself, but… I’ll think about it?” she said tentatively as they appeared inside Mount Justice.

“Do I even want to know the context?” Batman said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“We were talking about Roy and how I’m gonna beat him up the next time I see him,” Wally said, a smile on her face. “Are we the last ones here?”

“Aqualad is still on his way.”

“Great! I’m not late for once!”

“Hey, KF, Superboy!” Robin called from nearby.

“Yo, Rob!” Wally called back, grabbing Superboy’s hand and hurrying over to him. “So how much trouble were you in?”

“Surprisingly not a lot. I was grounded for a bit, though. You?”

“Nothing for me, but that just gave me more time with SB! See? I got him a cool new outfit!” Wally said, grinning widely and gesturing to Superboy. “Ta-da! Brand new Superboy!”

“Ooh! Nice. I like it,” Robin said, nodding his agreement. “Does he have a notebook yet?”

“Yep! And I brought it with me, along with yours and Kaldur’s!”

“Nice. How’d you enjoy Central, Superboy?”

“It was… nice. We went to the museums and had Jitters. A lot.”

Robin let out a laugh at that.

“Yeah, you better get used to that. She takes us all to Jitters every time we hang out in her city. But she always has new facts about something in one of the museums every time we go, so she shakes it up a bit,” Robin said, smirking slightly.

“Her notebooks are very interesting. She’s letting me borrow her Superman one for a little bit,” Superboy said, holding it up.

“Well, you better take good care of it,” Robin said. “She only keeps one copy of each notebook, but legend says she actually uses the laptop I got her to store them digitally.”

“It’s not the same if I can’t customize them for each person!” Wally protested. “Everyone gets a different notebook design!”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just teasing.”

_ Recognized Aqualad B02 _

“Oh, he’s here! Kaldur!!” Wally called out cheerfully, grinning and waving him over. “Kaldur, come see Superboy’s new outfit!”

“Good morning, my friends,” Kaldur greeted. “I do like his new outfit, Kid. Did you pick it out?”

“I just helped him find his size. He wanted a Superman shirt, so we got him a Superman shirt.”

“I take it you both had a good time these past three days, then.”

“Yep! Oh, if Superboy asks any questions about me, you and Rob have my permission to answer them.”

“Enough chatter,” Batman said. “Let’s explain what you’re all doing here.”

The four teens gathered around him, Wally keeping close to Superboy’s side.

“After some deliberation, we have decided to allow you to form your own team. However,” he said before they celebrated too early. “You will be operating under League terms. You will act as a stealth team, taking care of behind the scenes missions while the League remains in the spotlight of the villains and the world. The five of you will be receiving missions from me, training from Black Canary, and Red Tornado will be your den-mother while you are all in here.”

“Wait…” Wally said, doing a quick count of the sidekicks present. “There’s only four of us here…”

“I was getting to that. You will be gaining a new member today as well as a headquarters for your operations,” Batman said, stepping to the side to reveal a martian girl behind him. “This is Miss Martian. Make sure she’s well taken care of. I’ll leave you five to get acquainted.”

“Hello! I’m M’gann M’orzz!” Miss Martian greeted, smiling and waving at them. “I hope we get along.”

Robin and Kaldur stepped forward to greet her properly, but Wally stayed back with Superboy, digging a blank notebook out of her backpack.

Superboy watched as she chose a white notebook and a red sharpie, glancing up at M’gann before drawing a thick red X across the cover. Once she was satisfied, she replaced the red sharpie with a black one, writing M’gann’s name on the cover.

“You work fast,” he commented.

“I did yours while you were asleep. Besides, fast is kinda my thing.”

“...And the dork with the notebook is Kid Flash,” Robin said. “I’ve never seen her make one before. It’s a big day today.”

“I’m gonna make one for the Team, too! Also, hi, I’m Wally West and I don’t really care if you know my secret identity. This is Superboy!” Wally said with a grin.

Superboy didn’t say anything, Wally frowning and jabbing her elbow into his side.

“...Hey…”

M’gann smiled shyly, shifting her top to match Superboy’s.

“I like your shirt…”

“Ooh…” Wally said softly, glancing between them. “Interesting… How did you do that?”

“Oh, my clothes are all organic! So, I can change them whenever I want!” M’gann said.

“So cool…”

“Can I ask you something?” M’gann asked. “Why do you have a notebook with my name on it?”

“I keep notebooks on all of my friends, as well as all the members of the League, events that happen in my life, and now I’ll have one on the Team as well! Would you like to see the other ones I brought with me?”

“KF…” Robin warned.

“There’s no sensitive information in there, don’t worry. I’m not stupid. Sensitive info is stored in the brain.”

“Well, if we are going to get to know each other,” Kaldur said. “I suggest we bond over a meal.”

“I doubt there’s stuff to make anything in the kitchen right now,” Robin said. “But we could go grocery shopping. Keep this place stocked for when we hang around here.”

“Oh, oh! Superboy and I could go get Jitters for everyone!” Wally said excitedly. “I want to pick up some more art supplies from my room anyway ‘cause I just got a great idea for the Team notebook!”

“I’ll let the adults know where we’re going and I’ll help Robin and Aqualad with the groceries,” M’gann said.

“We will meet back here when we’re all done,” Kaldur said. “Superboy, please make sure Kid does not go overboard with her Jitters order.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Just for that, I’m getting caffeine!” Wally said, a small pout on her lips.

“Can you get me one, too?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, definitely. Are we ready to start?”

They split into two groups, Wally and Superboy using the Zeta tube to get back to Central.

“Okay, let’s pick up my art supplies first and then we’ll go order drinks,” Wally said, smiling widely at him.

“So what’s your big idea for the Team notebook?” Superboy asked, glancing down at her.

“I will tell you when I tell everyone else. It’s gonna be so much fun!”

He playfully rolled his eyes, waiting outside her house when she told him to.

“I’ll be right back. I promise!” she said before disappearing inside.

She moved around her room quickly, easily finding what she was looking for.

Packing it all in her backpack, she hurried back outside, making sure to lock the door behind her.

“Got everything?”

“Yep! Let’s go order some drinks and meet back with everyone!”

Superboy stood behind her as she ordered drinks, raising a brow at how quickly and easily she ordered custom drinks and to-go containers of hot chocolate.

At one point, she glanced at him and then ordered another custom drink, and then one more after that.

The drinks were made and acquired, the duo taking the nearest Zeta tube back to Mount Justice.

“We’re back!” Wally called out. “I have coffee!”

“From what the Flash has said previously,” Red Tornado said as he passed by. “That is a highly dangerous combination.”

“I’m not that wired when I drink one coffee. The caffeine leaves my system fairly quickly, anyway. Did the others come back yet?”

“Robin, Miss Martian and Aqualad are in the kitchen.”

“Thanks, Red! Let’s go, Superboy!”

Wally grinned and hurried into the kitchen with Superboy, holding up the drinks in her hands victoriously.

“Coffee time!! I got special drinks for everyone!”

“But… None of us gave a specific order…” M’gann said, confusion evident in her voice.

“KF gets drinks for people based off of her own analysis of their personality, looks, and any previous information she may have on them. And whatever she thinks they might like,” Robin explained, observing the markings on the cups and picking one out. “Tell her if you like it or not and she’ll adjust accordingly. Thanks, KF. You always know my favorite.”

“Yeah, well, I only gave you black coffee once ‘cause you were being stubborn about it. Didn’t like that much, did you?” she teased, passing Superboy and M’gann their cups.

“Listen, I was trying to be mature!”

“By gagging on your coffee in the middle of Jitters? Okay.”

Kaldur stepped in front of Robin before he could smack Wally, an amused smile on his face.

“Now, now. Let’s not fight,” he said.

“At least Kaldur has some sense-”

“Robin already embarrassed himself enough in front of everyone at Jitters that day.”

“KALDUR’AHM!!”

Wally laughed loudly, sitting on the island in the middle of the kitchen and swinging her feet.

“Ah, I knew he’d be on my side.”

M’gann giggled a bit, smiling softly.

“I can tell you three have known each other for a while. You act just like my siblings do!”

“Y’know, it’s funny you say that,” Robin said. “Cause I absolutely thought KF and Speedy were related when I first saw them together.”

“It was the same for me,” Kaldur said. “It was remarkable they looked so similar yet were not related in any way.”

Superboy frowned slightly, the loud laughter having completely vanished. Yet no one took notice.

“Who is Speedy?” M’gann asked.

“Oh, he was KF’s first friend and even introduced Kaldur and I to her,” Robin explained. “But after our Hall of Justice visit, he-”

“I think you should shut up,” Superboy said, cutting Robin off before he could say anything else about Roy.

“What?” Robin asked, a bit confused and upset that Superboy interrupted him just to tell him to shut up. “Wh-Why would you say that to me?”

“Robin, it is best we do not speak of Roy around Kid,” Kaldur whispered into his ear. “It is still a fresh wound.”

“Wha- Oh…” Robin muttered, looking over at Wally.

She had gone quiet, staring blankly at the floor and chewing on the end of her straw. And judging by the teeth marks, she’d been doing it the entire conversation about their missing friend.

“Hey…” Robin said softly, moving so he was standing in front of her and tilting his head to catch her eye. “Hey, I’m sorry… I didn’t realize you were still upset about him leaving, but I should’ve known since you two were closer than any of us… But let’s not think about him, okay? We got what we wanted and he always has an invitation to join if we ever run into him again.”

“...Superboy promised to beat him up because he’s ignoring me…” she whispered.

“Yeah? I might help him, honestly. Now cheer up and drink your coffee. We’ve got food to make and team bonding stuff to do!”

“...Okay…”

“Let’s get started!” M’gann said, trying to bring the mood back up. “Wally, do you know how to cook anything?”

“Uh… not really…”

“Her aunt usually makes dinner,” Robin said. “I don’t think KF’s ever had a chance in the kitchen before.”

“I can learn, though. It couldn’t hurt. I can probably cook better than Rob anyway.”

“Hey!”

Wally smirked and stuck her tongue out at him, swinging her feet slightly.

“Kaldur, do you know how to cook?” she asked.

“I do know some Atlantean recipes, but I am still learning surface recipes.”

“I guess we’re all learning how to cook today,” Robin said. “Show us what’s up, M’gann.”

The group started their cooking lessons, though it was mostly chaos due to their conflicting personalities and Robin and Wally trying to one up each other with Kaldur stuck in the middle and Superboy egging Wally on.

“What is going on in here?” came a robotic voice from the doorway.

Everything stopped, all eyes turning to Red Tornado.

Wally was sitting on Kaldur’s shoulders, a pile of flour in her hand prepped to be thrown at Robin - who was sitting on Superboy’s shoulders - with flour and other unidentifiable foods all over them.

M’gann wasn’t safe from being covered in food, but she was standing protectively in front of the actual finished dishes.

“Uh…” Wally started to say, looking to her teammates for help.

“Team bonding,” Kaldur said quickly. “I have heard that cooking brings people together, so this is a team bonding exercise.”

“...Very well. Be sure to clean up your mess when you are finished.”

“We will be sure to do that.”

Red Tornado gave a small nod before leaving them alone again.

Wally giggled, dropping the flour in her hand on top of Kaldur’s head.

“Oh man, we almost got in so much trouble! Quick thinking, Kaldur!”

“Well, I wasn’t wrong. Let’s clean up our mess and clean ourselves off.”

“Ooh! Use your water bearers! I brought a change of clothes!” Wally said, allowing Kaldur to help her down off his shoulders.

“Why do you have a change of clothes?” Robin asked.

“Because I always carry one, just in case! You never know what’ll happen! What about you, Mr. My-Utility-Belt-Has-Everything?”

“Of course my utility belt has a change of clothes. I made sure of it.”

“And I brought Superboy a change of clothes, too! Can’t be too prepared!”

The four sidekicks cleaned up the kitchen before moving into the showers near the gym.

Kaldur used his water bearers to wash everyone off, soaking them completely.

“Okay, well that was really fun!” Wally said, toweling off her hair and sitting on the floor of the living room. “Onto more fun, though! I have an idea for the Team notebook!”

“Oh? Please do share with the class,” Robin said, smirking slightly.

She stuck her tongue out as she pulled an orange notebook and all of her art supplies, setting it on the coffee table proudly.

“I propose that, instead of just me keeping records on the Team, we all do it! Every time we go on a mission, whether it’s all together or in pairs or individually, we make a record of it in the notebook! Even if something stupid - or anything, really - happens, we put it in there! I’m gonna leave a bunch of my art supplies here and even my polaroid camera and refills for easy access!”

“Oh, wow… Didn’t expect that…” Robin muttered.

“I am honored that you wish to share something like this with us, Kid,” Kaldur said with a soft smile. “I say we should keep the notebook together.”

“No complaints here,” Robin said. “I’ve always wanted to see what you find so appealing about keeping notebooks.”

“The notebooks are important to you, so I’ll do it,” Superboy agreed, leaning back in his seat.

“I think it’ll be fun! Like a personal log for all of us!” M’gann said, smiling widely.

“Cool! So… do we have a name for our team or are we just the Team?” Wally asked.

“I think just ‘the Team’ fits our vibe,” Robin said.

She nodded, grabbing a black sharpie and quickly writing that on the cover.

“So, should we add our first team bonding experience in here?”

“Totally!”

“Ooh, we should decorate the cover, too!”

“Yo, KF, toss me the markers! Ow! Not like that!”

“Be more specific next time!”

“...I don’t think I’m good at this art thing…”

“Doesn’t matter! Just do your best!”

“Hey, kiddo, it’s about time we head home,” Barry said, leaning over the back of the couch to see her on the floor.

“I’m staying for a bit longer,” Wally said, not even sparing him a glance as she cut out the doodle she did of herself, Robin and Kaldur.

“It’s getting late. You know Iris doesn’t-”

“She already said I could stay later.”

“Wally, I’m not comfortable with you walking home alone-”

“Rob and Kaldur said they’d walk me home.”

“This isn’t up for debate-”

“You’re not my dad, alright?!” she said loudly, fixing him with a glare. “But you’re sure as hell starting to act like him by doing whatever it is you’re trying to force me to do! If it’s not a debate, then leave! Aunt Iris already said I could stay later and I’m not walking home alone! What part of that isn’t getting through to you?! Do you want me to spell it out for you?! I know you’re smarter than that, so figure it out and leave me alone already!”

With her rant over, she turned back to her work, completely ignoring his existence now.

“...I-”

“I believe she has asked you to leave,” Red Tornado said. “I can confirm that she has permission to stay here longer. Batman and Aquaman are well aware that Robin and Aqualad will be home later after walking her home.”

“...Fine. But this conversation isn’t over, Wally.”

She didn’t respond, but Robin noticed that she visibly tensed at his words.

Once Barry was gone, she let out a shaky breath, but didn’t relax as she carefully taped her doodle onto the cover of the notebook with shaky fingers.

“...Hey, Kaldur, can you come help me look for something in the kitchen?” Robin asked.

“Of course. We shall return shortly.”

Robin grabbed Kaldur’s arm, dragging him out of the room and into the kitchen.

“One of them is going to break because of… whatever’s going on there.”

“Yes, I am… worried that someone will say something everyone will regret… I had thought Kid’s declaration that Barry was not her father would be the one to break him, but there is truth to her words there.”

“She shouldn’t have compared Barry to her dad… But I don’t even know if she sees Iris and Barry as her parents or not after everything that happened… She still calls them her aunt and uncle, but from what Roy said, they’re treating her more like she’s their kid and not just their niece.”

“Regardless, she has been deeply hurt by Barry keeping secrets from her. And while I do not like encouraging this kind of behavior, perhaps an argument is what they both need to mend their relationship.”

Robin nodded his agreement.

“It’ll be messy, but it’ll be a good way for them to get their feelings out. Wally can’t keep shutting her feelings up on the pages of notebooks that someone may or may not get to see…”

“Until this has all passed, I suggest we do not bring up her relationship with Barry until she is ready to speak of it again.”

“She’s not going to start an argument herself,” came a voice from the doorway. Robin and Kaldur turned to see Superboy.

“...What do you mean?” Robin asked.

“I told her she can’t stay mad at him forever, and she told me as long as Barry stayed away from her, she wouldn’t have to stay mad forever. So she’s not looking for a fight.”

“She’s looking for space…”

“I would normally respect her need for space to work out her problems, but this is affecting her life on both sides. Barry will need to push her boundaries if they are going to resolve this.”

“If she’s willing to listen,” Superboy said. “That was the most she’s said to him since we escaped Cadmus. She’s made her stance clear.”

“Is everything alright in there?” M’gann called out from the living room.

“We’d better get back before Wally figures out we’re talking about her,” Robin said.

Kaldur nodded, leading the other two out of the kitchen.

“...and as we get to know each other more, I’ll add more into your notebook,” Wally said as she showed M’gann the notebook she started for her. “I do put some, like, background information in, but it’s mostly full of notes I take on that person.”

“I see. Well, I hope it will be mostly good things that you write about me in there!” M’gann said, smiling at her.

Wally gave a smile back, but Robin could see it wasn’t genuine. Not even close.


	15. Loud... And Then Soft

“And you are positive that Kid is not acting much like herself?” Kaldur asked as he and the rest of the Team walked the streets toward Wally’s house.

“Trust me. She’s never snippy and got frustrated much quicker than usual while we were exchanging information on our respective rogues galleries,” Robin said. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen her give a genuine smile in a while. Not since we formed the team last week. She’s putting up a front. And a terrible one at that. I just think that if we pay her a visit and push her a bit to talk, we can figure out what’s going on. If it’s just teenage angst, then it’s teenage angst and we buy her a coffee.”

“And if it isn’t?” Superboy asked.

“We deal with the situation the best we can.”

As they approached the house, Superboy frowned and tilted his head slightly.

“...There’s a lot of yelling going on inside…”

“...Who’s doing the most yelling?” Robin asked.

“Sounds like both of them, but Wally has a very loud voice.”

“Oh, boy…” Robin muttered under his breath, muffled yelling coming from the other side of the door as he reached out to open it.

“Why can’t you understand what I’m going through?!” Wally screamed, pure anger painted on her face as she stood on the opposite side of the living room from Barry.

“I’m not a mind reader, Wally! There’s only so many things I can guess about you if you don’t talk to people! I’m trying to understand you, but you’re making it more difficult than it needs to be!”

Barry had his back to the door - and to the audience they now had - but his body language and tone of voice made it clear he was more desperate to figure out what was wrong than angry that they were arguing.

“I’m not making  _ anything  _ difficult! I’ve made it very clear what I want and why I’m upset! But you’re not listening! No one is listening!”

“I’m listening now, Wally! I’ve always been listening, but sometimes it’s like you’re speaking a completely different language that I can’t understand most of the time! I-Is this about the Watchtower secret?? You know better than any of the other sidekicks how important secrets are to the League!”

“And yet you didn’t trust me enough with this one even though you’ve trusted me with every other one!” Her voice was getting louder, higher. “You kept a secret from me and didn’t trust me enough and didn’t believe in the skills that  _ you  _ taught me to be a hero and if Roy was here you would’ve figured out what was wrong much sooner but he’s not here because of the… the FUCKING JUSTICE LEAGUE!”

Her outburst about the Justice League stunned everyone into silence, but she kept going.

“If you had just let him in as a member, he wouldn’t have run off on his own and left me behind to pick up the pieces! He should have been a part of the Team, but instead he’s off god knows where all alone and he’s not answering any of my messages and I’m worried and mad and upset and I want to cry all at the same time because it feels like he doesn’t care about me anymore because he just dropped all contact with me the moment he was denied a League membership!”

“K-Kid, I-”

But she continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

“We finally got the Team we wanted but we’ve gotten no missions and I feel like I’m not getting to know anyone as well as I had been before! Roy is gone and you were keeping secrets and it’s too much! There’s so much change happening and it’s all going by so quickly and I don’t know what to do and I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I HATE IT!!!”

With each repetition of ‘I hate it’ her voice got higher and higher and louder and louder until she was practically screeching the phrase.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, even as she scrubbed them away. She raised her fist and slammed it against her temple, not even wincing at the impact. She managed to get a few more hits in before hands forced her fists open and fingers intertwined with her own.

“Hey…! KF… Wally, look at me!”

She flinched and tried to pull away from the person in front of her, but they held fast to her hands.

“Shh… Deep breaths, alright? Just like I know you know how.”

She tried to take a deep breath, but she was breathing too fast and was struggling to get her thoughts together, much less figure out who was speaking to her.

“C’mon, match my breathing. I know you can do it. You’re strong, probably stronger than anyone I know. You can get through this.  _ We  _ can get through this. Together.”

She managed to suck in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before releasing it.

“There we go… Just like that…”

Slowly, her breathing returned to a somewhat normal pace, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

She let out a choked sob, her knees buckling as she fell to the ground.

“Just let it all out, Walls… It’s not good to keep all of this bottled up…”

He fell to his knees in front of her, releasing her hands to pull her into a hug.

She let out a child-like wail, full of sadness and pain, burying her face into his chest and clinging to him tightly, as if letting her grip loosen even a little bit would mean he would disappear. Just like Roy.

“I’m not going anywhere…”

She shook her head and tightened her grip on him.

“I know that’s what he told you, too, but he’s an asshole for leaving anyway. He knew how important he was to you and he left anyway, thinking you wouldn’t fall apart. That Kaldur and I would just hold you together when in reality, neither of us really truly grasped how much this was affecting you. Do you know why?”

She shook her head again, but her sobs had quieted.

“Because he failed to show either of us how to read your body language and the subtle ways your expression and mood changes when something’s wrong. He failed to teach us the most important bits of knowledge he had as the oldest: how to properly take care of you. And the next time I see him, I’m going to knock sense into him until he sees how much he’s hurt you.”

His own grip tightened on her.

“But until then, you have to talk to us if something is wrong. I don’t care if it’s verbal or through a notebook, but you have to open up to us and tell us what’s wrong or we’re just going to have a repeat of what’s happened right now. Do you understand?”

She gave a small nod.

“Good. Now, I’m not really great and resolving problems like this, but how about you and Barry just separate for a few hours and then when we come back, you talk things out instead of yelling at each other? We’ll go to Jitters, mess around in the museums and relax. Sound good?”

She gave another nod, reluctantly pulling her head away from Robin’s chest and wiping at her eyes.

“We will have her back before nightfall,” he heard Kaldur saying to Barry and Iris.

“C’mon, KF… Up off the floor…” Robin muttered softly, carefully getting to his feet and bringing her up with him.

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes again, giving a small whine when Robin let go of her. Silently, hesitantly, she reached for his hand, but seemed to stop a bit away from his, as if there was something stopping her.

Robin gave her a small smile and took her hand, squeezing it slightly.

“Everything good on this end?” Robin asked Kaldur.

“Yes. Let us go and relax for a while.”

“I’ll lead the way,” Superboy said. “I know the way to Jitters by now.”

“Oh, I hope I remember what that coffee order Wally got me was…” M’gann said thoughtfully. “It was the best one she’s gotten me so far!”

“Even if you don’t remember, she has it stored in that beautiful brain of hers somewhere,” Robin said. “Let’s get going before the line gets too long.”

She didn’t say anything as she was led out of the house, holding onto Robin’s hand tightly and not looking anyone in the eye.

The rest of the Team chattered on around her, Robin occasionally asking her questions or her opinion on something, though he never expected a response back.

“Alright, let’s see… Does everyone want the usual order?” Robin asked as they entered the cafe.

“I would not be opposed to that. It may make things easier,” Kaldur said. “Do you know everyone’s drink orders?”

“I have an idea of them. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out. I’ll bring KF with me,” Robin said, heading over to the register with Wally in tow.

He put in the order for their drinks, paying for it and leading Wally over to the table Kaldur had found for them.

He thought he’d have to fight to get his hand back from her, but she let go easily once she was seated next to Kaldur, Robin taking the seat on her other side.

“Drinks are ordered, but it might take a while for them to be made since they’re fairly complex. In the meantime, we should plan out which museum we’ll visit first. That’ll determine what’ll get KF going again. Right, KF?” he said, nudging her slightly.

“...science…” she mumbled quietly, though by the way Robin leaned in slightly, there was more that he couldn’t hear.

“She said she wants to see the science exhibits,” Superboy said, having caught every word she had said.

“So the natural history museum first, then! No problem! Maybe they have a new exhibit since I last went there…”

“Do they not have museums in Gotham?” M’gann asked.

“Oh, there’s museums in Gotham, but there’s something about going to one that I don’t get to visit that often… It’s a different experience.”

“I see…”

“Five drinks for Robin?” one of the baristas called out.

“Guess that’s my cue! I’ll be right back.”

Robin got to his feet, hurrying over to the counter to grab their drinks.

Kaldur smiled and turned his attention to Wally.

“How are you feeling, Kid?”

“...dunno…”

“That is quite alright. I am sure you will begin to feel better after our trip to the museum.”

She gave a small nod, but didn’t offer any other response.

“Alright, let’s see here… One KF special with extra extra espresso and whipped cream for our resident speedster,” Robin said as he returned, setting down a cup with whipped cream coming out of the top. “Frozen, just how you like it. And the one with the least amount of coffee in it is for Kaldur…”

One by one, he passed out drinks before finally sitting down with his own.

Wally had her straw in her mouth, but seemed to be chewing on it rather than actually drinking from it.

“Hey, Walls, you good?”

“Mm-hm…” she mumbled, finally taking a long sip after being caught. “M’fine… This tastes more like coffee than last time…”

“There’s a ton of espresso in there. I thought the caffeine would help kickstart your brain a little. I won’t tell Iris how much you’ve had,” Robin said, giving her a smirk and a wink.

“...I might actually get wired from this…”

“We like a wired speedster! Go ahead and drink all of it. I’ll get you another one before we leave if you want one.”

“Mm…” she mumbled around her straw, keeping her eyes trained on her slowly draining cup.

“I’m sure Superboy has already been to the museums, but you’re gonna love it, M’gann!” Robin said. “Not only is there a natural history museum, there’s also a museum dedicated to the Flash! Get her in the right mood and Wally will info dump on you everything she knows!”

“Is that what we’re trying to do now?” M’gann asked.

“More or less. Going by experience, if you ask the right questions, she’ll start talking about what she likes!”

“When we first met her,” Kaldur said. “She was very unsure of us, but Robin asked her what she liked about the Flash and her mood instantly changed. She had become so comfortable with us that she even asked me about my tattoos and I told her about Atlantean technology.”

“...I still need to get my hands on some of it…” she mumbled. “Kaldur won’t let me take apart his water bearers…”

“The next time I return to Atlantis, I will see what I can get for you. I am sure my king will not mind.”

“Appreciate it…”

She finished off her drink, tossing the cup into the nearby trash can.

“Do you want another one?” Robin asked.

“...Yeah…”

“I’ll go order it, then. Anyone else want a refill?”

Everyone else declined, Robin shrugging and heading over to the counter to order Wally and himself another drink.

She watched him walk over, keeping her eyes set on him even though he wasn’t looking back at her.

“Do you have a crush on Robin?” M’gann asked.

Wally pouted, turning her attention to the disguised martian.

“...A what?”

“A crush! Like, you have feelings for him?”

“...Straight up do not know what that is.”

“You know, a crush! When a boy likes a girl or a girl like a boy!”

“...Like… friends?”

“Wally, how old are you?” M’gann asked.

“15… Why?”

“You’re 15 and you don’t know what a crush is?”

“...I feel like I’m being made fun of here…”

“I’m not trying to make fun of you! Really!” she said quickly. “I’m just a little confused on how you don’t know what a crush is… being a teenager and all…”

“...I-Is that normal for teenagers?” Wally asked, turning to Kaldur for answers.

“Relatively speaking, yes. From what I understand, the ages between 14 and 18 are usually when crushes are developed. Some even at the ages of 12 or 13.”

“Yeah… I’ve never heard of anything like that before…”

“Never heard of what before?” Robin asked as he came back to the table, handing Wally her new drink.

“Wally doesn’t know what a crush is!” M’gann said.

“Oh, I knew that,” he said. “This isn’t the first time she’s been unaware of things other people consider normal. Give her a little bit to catch up and then she’ll get what you mean.”

“...Oh… This is one of those things I have to experience…” Wally muttered under her breath.

“Exactly. Are we ready to head to the museum?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The Team made their way toward the museums, Wally feeling much better now that she could talk about the things she was passionate about with her friends.

As she info dumped onto Superboy and M’gann, Robin and Kaldur stood back and let them have their fun.

Robin with a soft smile on his lips.

“Are you sure it is alright that she is not aware of what a crush is?” Kaldur asked quietly.

“Yeah… It’s fine. She’ll figure it out eventually, just like everything else up until now.”

“I see… And will you be willing to wait as long as it takes for her to figure it out?”

Robin hesitated for a moment too long, long enough for Kaldur to take notice.

“...I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kaldur. She’s my friend. Probably my best friend, if I had to choose between you two. I just want to see her happy…”

Kaldur hummed at that, but didn’t press the issue further.

It seems as if someone was in denial.

“It is starting to get late,” he said instead. “Perhaps it is time we bring her back home.”

“Hmm… You’re right. Plus, I don’t think SB and Miss M can take much more of Wally’s Flash facts,” Robin agreed, a smirk replacing his smile. “Yo, KF! Wrap it up so we can get you home!”

“But we’ve got a whole ‘nother exhibit!”

“Another time, Kid,” Kaldur said. “The sun is starting to set and not everyone can run home like you do. We will revisit the Flash museum at another time.”

“Ugh, alright… I’m getting tired anyway…”

They left the Flash museum, chatting idly amongst themselves as they made their way back to Wally’s house.

Robin expected to have to push her back inside to talk with Barry, but to everyone’s surprise, she opened the door on her own, glancing back at them.

“I would offer to let you guys inside, but Uncle Barry and I need to talk and it’s getting late. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay?”

Without waiting for a response, she stepped inside and shut the door.

“That was… oddly mature of her,” Kaldur said. “She has never willingly walked into a conversation after shutting down.”

“...Maybe she’s trying to take control of herself since a certain someone isn’t here to prop her up,” Robin said, a bit of scorn in his voice. “But she’s right. It’s getting late and we should all head home. She can handle this…”

Meanwhile, Wally stepped into the kitchen, taking a seat across from Barry and staring him down.

“I’m calm and ready to talk without screaming,” she said.

Barry nodded, trying his best not to show his surprise at how calm and mature she was acting.

“Iris, could you…?”

“Of course. I’ll be upstairs whenever you two are done,” Iris said, leaving them alone in the kitchen.

“Alright, kiddo, lay it on me.”

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and locking eyes with him.

“It upset me and hurt me that you kept the Watchtower a secret. And I know the only reason Roy never told me about it was because he assumed you told me.”

“And that is completely my fault for not trusting you. I have no excuse for violating our agreement on secrets.”

She nodded.

“This has nothing to do with you in particular, but Roy deserved a spot in the League. He’s the oldest out of the sidekicks and - besides Robin - has the most experience. But because he wasn’t given what he wanted, he abandoned everyone he was ever close with. And that hurt me more than you keeping secrets.”

He let out a breath, leaning forward slightly and gently placing his hand on top of hers.

“Wally, kiddo, whatever is going on with Roy… He’s going through something right now. It’s best to give him his space like we do with you and just wait until he’s ready. The reason Batman didn’t allow him membership into the League was precisely because of how he reacted to rejection. There’s no room for someone like that in the League, which is why the rest of you kids aren’t ready either. You’re all still learning, but maybe one day I’ll get to be the one to hand you that Justice League membership card.”

“...Okay. I understand and I’ll stop trying to contact him for now.”

He smiled slightly and nodded, gently squeezing her hand.

“I’m… I’m sorry I tried to compare you to my dad… That wasn’t fair of me. You’re nothing like him and you were just worried about me, but I was being stubborn because of how angry I was about… everything.”

“That’s just a part of growing up, kiddo. Being angry at seemingly pointless things is normal teenage behavior. Hormones and all that, y’know?” he said, lifting her chin with his free hand. “And, hey, I know I’m not your dad. And you don’t every have to think of me as your dad. I’ll be your Uncle Barry until the day I die if I have to, and Iris can be your Aunt Iris all the same. But don’t forget that we’re trying our best to make up for what your parents failed to show you and teach you. We’re all going to make mistakes, but we’ll learn from them together.”

She stayed silent for a moment, a thoughtful look in her eye.

“But whatever you want to know me as is entirely up to you, Walls.”

“...Those words hold terrible meanings for me still… But for now, you’ll both be Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris… And maybe one day I’ll get over that bad association with ‘mom’ and ‘dad’.”

“You take as long as you need to. And if it never happens, that’s alright too.”

He leaned forward more, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“You know I love you, right, kiddo?”

“Yeah… and you know I love you too.”


	16. Welcome to Happy Harbor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello!  
> This is a bit of a long one since so much happened and I didn't want to split it up.  
> But I do have an announcement: I created a blog for the Team's notebook! You can find it here: https://theteams-notebook.tumblr.com/  
> You can also find the pages under the tag #the team notebook  
> Right now, it's only on tumblr, but I may shift it onto instagram.

“We’re closing in on his location.”

“He will not be pleased to have our unwanted help.”

“He’s a big boy. He’ll deal with it.”

“Yeah, as long as he’s not being a stubborn asshole still.”

“Language, Kid.”

“When did you become the mom friend, Kaldur?”

“Someone had to.”

“He’s just up ahead. Let’s go!”

The sounds of a fight grew louder as the three sidekicks burst onto the scene, taking out any armed goons in their way until they found their target.

“What in the hell are you three doing here? Who sent you?” was the greeting they received.

“Wow, rude,” Wally said with a pout. “And to think we took time out of our day to come help you.”

“It’s almost midnight.”

“Regardless, we tracked you down for a reason, y’know? So stop playing around with Brick. He thinks he can beat you.”

With a roll of his eyes, Roy shot an arrow at Brick, encasing him in some kind of foam.

“Hm! High-density polyurethane foam! Nice touch,” Wally said, observing his work from her spot on top of a shipping container.

“What do you want?”

“Oof. No nicknames, right to business,” Wally said, pouting slightly.

“You said you tracked me down for a reason. Just tell me what it is already.”

“We wished to offer you a spot on our Team. We could use your skill set during missions,” Kaldur said.

“We haven’t gotten, like, any missions yet but I’m sure we’ll get some soon,” Robin put in.

“So what d’ya say? Wanna join the Team?” Wally asked, smiling and extending her hand to Roy.

He slapped her hand away, glaring at all three of them.

“I don’t need any adult supervision or a clubhouse to do what I do. This ‘Team’ of yours is a joke. Something to keep you all busy and in your place so you don’t pull off something stupid. So the League doesn’t have more incidents like mine. Besides, I know you two only want me to join to babysit Wally and I’m not going to do that anymore. Count me out and don’t ask me again.”

Wally flinched when her hand was hit away, frowning and running off without a word to her comrades.

“Yeah, run back to safety like you always do…” Roy muttered softly.

“That is taking it too far,” Kaldur said with a frown. “I do not think you know just how much you have hurt her since you left.”

“She’s 15. She’ll be fine.”

“Except she wasn’t and she still isn’t,” Robin interjected. “She was so torn up over you leaving and ignoring her messages that she blew up at Barry about everything that happened after the Hall of Justice. Right now, Superboy has offered to be your replacement, but he has no idea how to help her like you did.”

“Superboy?”

“Speaking of Superboy, I believe you have a message from him, Robin.”

“You’re right, Kaldur. And consider it one from me and Kaldur as well,” Robin said, cracking his knuckles before grabbing the front of Roy’s costume with one hand, pulling him down slightly until his other fist met his face. “Ignore Wally again and you might get one straight from the Superboy himself. And trust me, you don’t want to get hit by someone with super strength.”

“You hit me!” Roy said, more shocked than anything as he pushed Robin away and placed a hand over where he was hit.

“And I’ll do it again. If she ever tries to contact you again, don’t ignore her or you’ll get more than just that punch,” Robin said, narrowing his eyes at Roy. “And, for the record, she doesn’t need a babysitter anymore. At least, not to the degree you had been doing before. She’s figuring herself out, and we want you on the Team because you’re our friend. Just know we’ll always have a spot open for an archer if you ever change your mind.”

“We should get going, Robin,” Kaldur said. “She has already gone home and it is getting late. We do not want to be exhausted just in case we have a mission tomorrow.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The duo quickly fled the scene, leaving Roy along to think about what had just happened.

Come morning, Wally was practically racing around the house to get ready for the day, triple checking that she had everything in her backpack and nearly tripping down the stairs.

“Woah, kiddo, relax. You’re gonna hurt yourself,” Barry said, looking amused at how excited she was. “What’s got you all riled up anyway?”

“We might actually get a mission today! And I don’t wanna be late if we do get one!”

“Aren’t you waiting on Robin, though? You did say last night that you two were going to go together.”

She paused as she processed this.

“...Then we’re gonna be late ‘cause he’s not here yet!”

Barry chuckled and shook his head slightly.

“Well, whenever you guys leave, have fun and be safe. Don’t go looking for trouble.”

“Honestly, Uncle Barry, you have so little faith! When have I ever gone looking for trouble?”

“Do you want that list in alphabetical or chronological order?”

“Ahaha… We’re not gonna get into trouble. Red will probably snitch to Batman if we do. I’m surprised he didn’t after we made a mess of the kitchen on our first day there.”

“Probably because Kaldur told him it was a bonding exercise. That kid could charm his way out of any situation.”

“Right? Honestly, if he tried a little harder, he might have been able to talk us out of invading Cadmus. But he knew we wanted to prove ourselves, so how could he say no?”

The doorbell rang, Wally looking over to see Robin peeking in the window.

“Welp, looks like my ride is here! I’ll see you later tonight, Uncle Barry! Maybe I’ll have a cool story to tell!”

She hurried out the door, smiling at Robin.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Definitely. Let’s get going before we’re late for something,” Robin said, smirking at her.

She grinned at him, grabbing his hand without a second thought and leading him down the street.

“Kaldur’ahm!! Any news??” she called out cheerfully as she and Robin appeared inside Mount Justice.

“Yeah, any new missions or anything??”

“Unfortunately no,” Kaldur said, walking over to greet his friends. “The only League member here is Red Tornado, I’m afraid. And he has made it clear he does not give out missions.”

Wally pouted, shoving her hands into her pockets.

“What’s even the point of having this Team if they’re not going to give us stuff to do?” Robin grumbled. “We’re a stealth team, I get that, but if we’re not out collecting intel then what’s the point?”

“I understand your frustrations,” Kaldur said. “But all we can do is wait. We did agree to do this under League terms.”

“I feel patronized… and maybe that Roy was right about our situation…” Wally mumbled. “Maybe this was just to keep us in line and shut us up about going off on our own…”

“KF, who cares what he thinks about this?”

She stared at him like he was stupid.

“...Me?”

“You shouldn’t. We’re just starting out, so of course we’re not going to have missions piling in on us. Just you wait, we’ll get our first mission soon.”

“Mmn…”

“And no one is babysitting you,” Robin continued. “In the beginning, when all that shit was happening to you, yeah Roy was essentially babysitting you but he chose to do that and you needed someone to show you how to start recovering. But now look at you! 15 years old and still going strong! The last outburst you had toward Barry was bad, yeah, but you also had gone a couple years without having one. That’s something to be proud of.”

“But-”

“I believe it is your turn to be a babysitter of sorts, Kid,” Kaldur put in. “Superboy is new to this world and needs someone to guide him along as we encounter things he has never seen before.”

“I guess…” she mumbled, looking up when she caught movement. “Oh, Red!”

“Do you have a mission for us?” Robin asked excitedly, the trio following him as he passed through the room.

“I am not the one who distributes missions, as I am sure Aqualad has informed you. Do not fret, however. You will be tested soon.”

“How ominous…” Kaldur muttered as Red Tornado left the room.

“And promising! That might mean we’re getting a mission soon!” Wally said, looking a bit more excited. “Hey, where are M’gann and SB?”

“They are waiting for us in the living room,” Kaldur said. “We should not keep them waiting.”

“Superboy probably heard all the noise we were making,” Robin put in. “Though, whether he told M’gann is a whole other story.”

“Hey, Superboy!” Wally called out as she ran further into Mount Justice. “Did you hear me come in?”

“How could I not?”

“I like to make my presence known,” she said, sitting next to him on the couch and looking at the TV. It displayed nothing but static. “...Oh, I love this show.”

“Weirdo.”

“Says the one who was watching this before I even came in.”

“We’re both weirdos, then.”

“As it should be,” Wally said, nodding her agreement. “Hello, M’gann!”

“Hello, Wally! I take it you’re feeling a lot better since what happened a few days ago?” M’gann greeted as she floated out of the kitchen.

“Much better! What’s on the agenda for today? Obviously good ol’ Red doesn’t have anything for us…”

“Oh, well… I was thinking, since Superboy and I live here and you guys have only really seen the front part of Mount Justice… we could give you guys a tour!”

“That sounds like a good way to kill some time, assuming Red does have a mission lined up,” Robin said. “Lead the way, Miss M.”

“Come on, Superboy! Let’s show them around!”

The five sidekicks toured the entirety of Mount Justice, M’gann in the lead and Superboy a bit behind her.

“...And I think that’s about it!” M’gann said as they circled back around to the living room.

“That was fun!” Wally said, grinning widely though it faded as she sniffed the air. “Is something burning?”

“Oh no! My cookies!” M’gann gasped, flying into the kitchen quickly.

The rest followed shortly, finding M’gann standing over a tray of burnt cookies.

“Oof… That looks like the last time I forgot something in the oven…” Wally said, pouting slightly.

“I’m sure it was just a fluke,” Robin said.

“Well, if cooking is like science, every good venture has its ups and downs!” Wally said, perking up a bit. “This just happens to be a down!”

“Well… since Red told me and Superboy that we’ll be going to school in the fall, I picked out an Earth name! Do you want to hear it?” M’gann asked.

“Yeah!”

“It would be a pleasure.”

“Lay it on us!”

“Okay, it’s Megan Morse!”

“Ooh! Simple and a variation of your actual name! I like it!” Wally said, grinning widely. “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to revoke your membership of the Weird Name Buddies club.”

“That’s still a thing? Who’s even a member?” Robin asked.

“Well, there’s me and Kaldur. And Superboy is a member now since he doesn’t exactly have another name besides… well, Superboy…”

Superboy frowned at that, looking away and crossing his arms over his chest.

M’gann noticed his change in demeanor and gave him a smile.

_ Don’t worry, Superboy. We’ll find you an Earth name, too. _

Everyone flinched as M’gann’s voice rang through their heads.

Wally clutched at her head, shaking it a bit to get the voice out before it heard something it didn’t need to know.

“Augh! Get out of my head!” Superboy growled out.

“M’gann, please!” Kaldur said. “Stop this at once!”

M’gann looked confused, still speaking through their minds.

_ I don’t understand. This is how everyone communicates with each other on Mars. _

“Well, here on Earth, it’s an invasion of privacy to just look inside someone’s mind,” Robin said.

A memory was put on display for everyone to see, Wally wincing and shaking her head again.

_ “You’re pretty smart, aren’t you, speed racer?” _

_ Roy leaned down a bit to look them in the eye, a soft affectionate smile on his face. _

“Who…?” M’gann asked quietly.

_ “Yeah, well, kinda have to be to do what I did, huh?” _

“This is…” Kaldur mumbled.

“Her first meeting with Roy…” Robin finished.

_ Roy let out a laugh, smiling more and reaching a hand up, presumably to pat her on the head. _

_ “Well, if you ever want to talk physics and trick arrows, I’ll come running as fast as I can, okay? Us redheads have to stick together after all!” _

“Enough!” Wally screeched. “Don’t look anymore! That’s private! That’s between me and him!”

M’gann broke the link, ending the memory before they could see any more of it.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t realize…” M’gan said, voice soft and highly apologetic.

“Stay out of my head!” Superboy and Wally shouted together.

While Superboy turned and left the room, Wally looked immediately guilty about yelling again.

“M’gann, I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I don’t want to get angry with anyone, but… I don’t want anyone to see those memories…”

Silence filled the void between the four sidekicks.

“...I’m going to make sure Superboy’s okay…” Wally mumbled, excusing herself and running out of the room.

“...I wasn’t digging for any memories…” M’gann said softly. “She must have been thinking about it a lot if it was front and center in her mind… But who was that?”

“Roy Harper. Otherwise known as Speedy,” Robin said. “He was her first friend until he dropped all of us after he didn’t get into the League. It’s still a sore spot for her apparently.”

“She may be looking back to figure out what  _ she  _ did wrong to make him leave,” Kaldur said. “She believes she is at fault and I doubt we will be able to change her mind so easily.”

“It’s better if you just… don’t bring him up around her. She’s working through it at her own pace.”

M’gann nodded, thinking of ways she could make this up to her hurt teammates.

“Do not beat yourself up over this, M’gann. Just give them 15 minutes and we shall continue with some team bonding exercises,” Kaldur said.

“Let me ask  _ you  _ something,” Superboy said, tucked away in one of the many rooms in Mount Justice with Wally. “Was that red headed guy in your memory Roy?”

She nodded, tucking her knees against her chest.

“That was the first time I had ever met him… We hit it off right away and ever since then he would always come visit me in Central City. Especially when I was upset…”

“...You shouldn’t blame yourself for him leaving. If he really cared that much about you, he would have stuck around purely for your sake.”

“Mm…” Wally mumbled, uncurling herself a bit. “But it’s not such a bad thing that he’s not always around. I mean, I’m… I’m finally figuring out how to deal with my problems myself instead of always running to him. With him not being here, it made me realize how much I really relied on him to solve all of my problems. I can see why he thought he was babysitting me…”

“You don’t need a babysitter. You just need people to keep you in order when you can’t get yourself in line. I don’t think that’s babysitting. That’s just having good friends and teammates to watch your back,” Superboy said. “Robin and Kaldur seem to have your back. Especially Robin.”

“Out of both of them, I’d consider Rob to be my best friend. Since Kaldur is usually in Atlantis, he’s not able to get to Central as quickly as Rob can. Also I can’t go visit him in Atlantis, either.”

“Why not?”

“He said the water pressure would literally kill me.”

“Makes sense.”

“But he’s shown me pictures from down there! I modified a phone for his birthday one year so it would work underwater. I didn’t want him to feel left out of the sidekick fun.”

Superboy nodded, leaning his head back against the wall.

“...So what was with the TV static thing earlier?”

“It’s your favorite show. You said it yourself.”

“Haha, very funny. But TV static is actually good background noise for me when I work on things.”

“So it technically is your favorite show.”

“Yeah, it’s very interesting. Don’t you think? The twist at the end of the latest episode got me good.”

He gave a small smirk at that, the two letting a comfortable silence settle into the room.

“...You should apologize to M’gann,” Wally said softly. “She does feel really bad about what she did…”

“I don’t even know how to do that.”

“Oh, that’s easy! You just say sorry! You might have heard me saying sorry to her after you left.”

“You said you didn’t like getting angry… Does it have to do with your parents?”

“Mostly, yeah. But I also don’t like getting angry because it scares people when heroes are angry and I just want to help people. What about you? Do you want to help people?”

“Of course. It’s what Superman does.”

“...But is that what  _ you  _ want as your own person?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just because you’re a clone of Superman doesn’t mean you have to do everything he does. I can tell you right now, he’s a bit overrated. But not you. You’re… different. And I like different.”

He glanced down at her, studying her expression before looking away.

“...I like different, too…”

“Well!” she said, smiling and getting to her feet. “Shall we join the rest of the Team for more bonding stuff?”

“You go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

“Okay, but if you take too long, I’ll run through the halls screaming your name at the top of my lungs until you come out!”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise! See you in a bit!”

She waved and hurried out into the living room, squeezing her way in between Kaldur and Robin on the couch.

“Hello, I have returned!”

“So it seems,” Kaldur said, shifting a bit so she had more room. “Where is Superboy?”

“He said he’d catch up in a bit. He should be here soon. Why? Are we going somewhere?”

“Miss M said she had something to show us, but she wanted to wait until everyone was here,” Robin said. “Can you move, by the way? You’re practically on my lap!”

“Aw, what? You don’t love me enough to let me sit on your lap?” she teased, moving a bit so she wasn’t practically on top of him anymore.

“I’m not as big as Kaldur! I can’t fit anyone bigger than me on my lap!”

“Superboy said we’re about the same size, though!”

“Yeah, and he’s like 6 feet tall! Everyone is short compared to him!”

“Not Kaldur. Right, Kaldur?” she said, turning to look at him.

“While I do admit that I am the closest to Superboy’s height, I would not say that Kid is the same size as Robin,” he said. “She is in that age range to get a growth spurt, so there is a possibility that she will be taller than you soon.”

“You can’t base her height off of Barry and Iris, Kaldur!” Robin protested.

“Actually, you can predict roughly what my height will be based off of Aunt Iris!” Wally put in. “Since she and my dad were siblings, it’s very likely that I could end up around her height! According to genetics.”

“Aw man, I’m gonna be the shortest on the Team…”

“You still have a growth spurt coming up, Robin,” Kaldur said. “Perhaps you will not be the shortest in the future.”

“Forever short Robin,” Wally teased.

“Shut up, KF!”

“Make me!”

She laughed as Robin smacked her arm, shoving him away and keeping him at arm's length the best she could.

“Do I even want to know?” came Superboy’s voice from the doorway.

“Rob’s just mad that he might be the shortest forever! Nothing new!”

“Oh, good! We’re all here!” M’gann said, smiling widely. “Come on, I want to show you guys something!”

She flew out of the room, the others hurrying after her. They followed her into the launch bay, coming to a stop a bit away from an odd red object.

“Ta-da! This is the Bio-ship! It’s how I got here from Mars!”

“Oh, wow…” Wally said, observing the state of the Bio-ship. “Very aerodynamic, but not very conventional to fit someone in there…”

“That’s because she’s resting! She’s organic, like my clothes, so if I wake her up…” M’gann said as the strange object morphed into something resembling an actual ship. “See? I thought maybe we could all go on a ride around Happy Harbor! Come aboard!”

The hatch opened, M’gann flying inside. Wally glanced at her friends, shrugging before following the martian inside.

As each Team member stepped inside, seats formed to accommodate them, Wally gladly taking one near the front.

“Red Tornado, please open the hangar doors,” M’gann said, the doors opening up for them as she took off.

“Ooh… So how does this work? Like, how do you fly it?” Wally asked.

“I can communicate with her telepathically, but I can also use manual flying as an option!”

“Sweet! Does that mean the rest of us will have a chance to fly her?”

“If the situation calls for it, yes.”

“So, Miss M, since you can change your outfit on command and make yourself look human, does that mean you can copy someone’s appearance?” Robin asked.

“I don’t have much practice with it, but I can show you what I can do!”

M’gann moved away from the controls, floating into the center of the ship and morphing into Robin, striking a pose before morphing into Kid Flash and then back to herself.

“Ooh, very nice! Very nice!” Wally said, clapping a bit.

“That was impressive, but I don’t think you’d be fooling anyone if you pretended to be me. It’s a bit obvious that we’re not the same gender,” Robin said.

“I haven’t quite figured out how to perfectly match someone’s appearance yet. Especially boys.”

“What about density shifting?” Wally asked. “Like Martian Manhunter.”

“I can’t do that one yet, either. It’s a bit of an advanced technique that requires a lot of control.”

“Sounds a lot like KF and running through walls,” Robin said with a laugh. “Every time she tries it? Bloody nose!”

“Dude!”

Robin laughed again, Wally sending him a glare but unable to do anything while she was stuck in her seat.

M’gann let out a giggle, heading back to the controls.

“She also has a camouflage mode. We’ll still be able to see everything around us, but no one will be able to see the ship!” M’gann asked, smiling at her teammates as she activated it.

“ _Attention, Team,_ ” came Red Tornado’s voice through the ship’s communications link. “ _There has been a disturbance at the Happy Harbor power plant. You are to covertly investigate and report back your findings._ ”

“Finally! A mission!” Wally cheered, digging her goggles out of her pocket and pulling them on so they rested on the top of her head.

“About time we got something to do around here,” Robin said, pulling out his utility belt and fixing it around his waist.

As they approached the power plant, they were hit by a tornado. M’gann grunted as she guided the Bio-ship out of the harsh winds and toward a safe place to land.

“We need to think about our plan of attack before we-” Kaldur started to say once M’gann had landed.

“Hey, Rob, wait for me!” Wally said, pulling her goggles down and running out of the ship to try and catch up with Robin.

Superboy gave a shrug before following suit.

“Why do I even bother?” Kaldur grumbled, running after his team with M’gann not too far behind.

As the two approached the power plant, they spotted Wally as she was blown out of the building and into some nearby bushes.

“So, the Justice League cannot be bothered to send real heroes to stop me?” the villain - Mister Twister - said, clearly unimpressed with the Team. “Pathetic. I will not indulge you children in a losing battle.”

“You should not look down on us,” Kaldur said, preparing himself to attack again. “We are not merely children.”

Despite Kaldur’s declarations, they were easily defeated, allowing Mister Twister to leave.

“Hey! Weather boy!” Wally called out, intercepting his path. “Don’t forget about me! I’m not out of the game yet!”

“Another child in over his head.”

“I’m a girl!”

“No matter. You are a nuisance either way.”

He easily knocked her away, Wally flying through the air again.

This time, however, she didn’t hit the ground.

Opening her eyes, she saw that she was floating in the air, M’gann nearby and keeping her from falling.

Coming out of the power plant to meet them, the boys hurried over, M’gann setting Wally on the ground.

“What do you want?” Kaldur demanded.

“I already told you. I am waiting for a real hero to arrive and give me a fight.”

With a heavy sigh, Kaldur turned to M’gann.

“Miss Martian, read his mind and tell us what he wants from us.”

“But… you said-”

“It’s different for villains,” Robin said. “Just do it!”

“I… Okay,” she conceded.

With her eyes glowing a light green, M’gann concentrated on Mister Twister, attempting to read his mind.

“Ugh… I can’t read it…” M’gann said, a thought coming to her. “Hello, Megan! Mister Twister is obviously Red Tornado! I mean, how many androids that can create tornadoes are running around?”

“That might be the test he was talking about before…” Wally murmured thoughtfully. “And I honestly wouldn’t put it past him to do something like this… He may be an android, but he does comprehend most human emotion and knew how upset we were getting about not getting any missions.”

“Oh, so you think I am Red Tornado! You are all so amusing! Perhaps you will be useful for a good fight!”

Mister Twister generated a storm, fully prepared to take on the Team again.

“I feel patronized. I don’t want to fight if it’s just good ol’ Red,” Wally said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, this isn’t a good way to cheer us up, buddy,” Robin added.

“This just made me feel worse…” Superboy muttered.

“Very well. If you will not make the first move, I will,” Mister Twister said, aiming a blast of lightning at them.

Superboy lunged at him, but quickly got knocked away by a gust of wind.

With all of her teammates knocked out, M’gann quickly moved the camouflaged Bio-ship to cover all of them from Mister Twister’s gaze.

“Hmph. I will let you all live. However, if you wish to engage me in battle again, I will show no mercy.”

With his piece said, he left them alone, M’gann waiting until he was out of sight before uncovering them.

“Ugh… What happened…?” Wally muttered, rubbing her head as she sat up.

“I put the Bio-ship between us and Mister Twister so he couldn’t see us,” M’gann said.

“How could you tell us that Twister was Red Tornado?!” Superboy yelled, Wally giving a small flinch at the sudden increase of volume in his voice. “Because of you he got away!”

“Woah, hey, SB! Let’s relax a little!” Wally said, scrambling to her feet and stepping in between him and M’gann.

“I was just a rookie mistake!” Robin added, joining Wally in keeping some distance between Superboy and M’gann. “We all make them! You think Kaldur, KF and I haven’t made mistakes before? It’s a natural part of learning!”

“It is true that this was a rookie mistake,” Kaldur said. “However, it was a mistake that could have gotten all of us hurt or killed.”

“That’s…!” Wally started to protest, but realized he was right. “...That’s true… If we hadn’t thought he was Red, we wouldn’t have held back like that.”

“Your lack of experience makes you a liability, Miss M,” Robin said. “It’ll be best if you just stay behind and let us deal with Mister Twister.”

Leaving no room for an argument, Robin ran off with Wally and Superboy, hoping to catch up with Mister Twister.

“I just…” M’gann said. “I just wanted to be a part of the Team…”

“With the way this mission is going,” Kaldur said. “I am not sure if we are a team at all. Perhaps in name only.”

With that, he hurried after his friends, leaving M’gann alone with the Bio-ship.

“Oh, good! Aqualad is here!” Wally said, trying her best to outrun tornadoes. “We could use some water backup!”

The fight had been going on for a bit, but neither side seemed to be winning or losing as of yet. And they were running out of options.

_ Everyone, listen to me! _

“Urgh! What did we say?!” Superboy growled.

_ I know! But this is important! I have a plan to beat Mister Twister, so please listen to what I have to say! _

“...What do you have in mind?” Kaldur asked.

They kept Mister Twister occupied for a bit longer, a voice calling out to them.

“Thank you for your assistance, Team,” Red Tornado said as he arrived on the scene. “Head back to headquarters. I will handle this.”

“Ah, finally! A true hero! And the one I was hoping to face anyway!”

Superboy, Robin and Kaldur backed off from the fight, keeping their distance as Red and Mister Twister traded blows with tornadoes.

“A formidable foe! But I am far superior!” Mister Twister said, managing to knock Red Tornado to the ground.

Wally appeared beside Robin, shoving her hands in her pockets as she watched the scene unfold.

Mister Twister landed beside Red, wires coming out of his fingers and attaching to the back of Red’s head.

“Now, let us get you reprogrammed nicely,” Mister Twister said.

Suddenly, Red grabbed the wires, head turning and morphing into M’gann’s face.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“What?! But how did you-”

“A speedster can create tornadoes! Would you like another demonstration?” Wally teased, rushing forward with her teammates and running circles quickly around Mister Twister, easily creating another tornado and sucking him in.

With the android properly distracted, Superboy knocked him into the ocean where Kaldur electrocuted him. M’gann, using her psychic powers, ripped the limbs off of his body.

Robin dealt the finishing blow, throwing explosives and blowing him up.

The Team gathered around the crater the remains of Mister Twister were in, revealing that he was piloted by an old man.

M’gann raised a boulder, bringing it down onto the man despite her teammates’ protests.

“Woah, hey! Overkill!” Wally practically screeched. “Killing is not in my book!”

“I don’t know what they do on Mars,” Robin said, anger in his voice. “But here on Earth, we don’t execute our prisoners!”

“It’s alright, I promise!” she said, lifting the rock to reveal that the man was also an android. “That’s why I couldn’t read his mind! There was nothing organic inside Mister Twister!”

“Minor lack of communication aside,” Kaldur said, placing his hand onto M’gann’s shoulder. “I say this mission was a success because of you, M’gann.”

“Ooh, souvenir!” Wally said excitedly, plucking a still intact eyeball from the android man and tucking it into her pocket. “I’ll have to add it to my shelf!”

“Let’s get what’s left of Mister Twister onto the Bio-ship and head back,” Robin said. “We should report this to Red.”

Once back at Mount Justice, they laid out the pieces of Mister Twister that they could salvage onto a table, showing Red Tornado their findings.

“Judging from your report,” Red said. “It seems that Mister Twister was sent to sabotage or even destroy me.”

“Was that why you wouldn’t help us?” M’gann asked.

“It is not my job to solve your problems, nor is it your job to solve mine,” he said simply. “I believe the matter is closed.”

With his piece said, Red walked away, leaving the Team alone.

“If it was any other member of the League, they wouldn’t have hesitated to get involved,” Wally said, crossing her arms. “Take it from me, the Flash cannot resist coming to help. Whether it’s wanted or not.”

“At least Red let’s us handle our own problems,” Robin put in. “I guess having a heartless machine is exactly what we need to watch over us.”

“I do have a heart,” Red said, not turning back to look as he continued to leave the room. “As well as excellent hearing.”

Robin’s cheeks turned pink at being caught, Wally laughing loudly at his embarrassment.

“Ah… Sorry, Red…” he mumbled.

“You should be more respectful,” Kaldur said, an amused smile on his face. “He is a League member and has been gracious enough to put up with our… shenanigans thus far.”

“Y’know, I think this Team is gonna work out, after all!” Wally said cheerfully. “We’ve still got some stuff to work out, but nothing’s perfect!”

“You may be right, Kid,” Kaldur said.

“It’s starting to get late, though,” she said. “I should probably make my way back to Central so I don’t miss dinner.”

“We should probably all get some rest,” Robin said, starting to leave the room with Wally close behind.

The rest followed, Superboy pausing briefly and glancing over at M’gann.

“...Sorry…” he mumbled before continuing on his way.

With a small smile, she watched him go, glad that she was forgiven for her mistakes.


	17. Of Entities and Past Memories

“Huh… KF’s late… Usually she’s here by now…”

“Perhaps she got mixed up in something and forgot to tell us.”

“But she usually mentions if she has plans with Barry and Iris…”

“Okay, but what if we message her instead of standing around wondering where she is?” Superboy said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“...Fair enough,” Robin muttered, pulling out his phone.

**[10:25] Rob:** _ yo KF! where are you? _

There was no immediate response, however it seemed as if she saw the message.

_ Read at 10:26 _

“Okay, if you saw it, why aren’t you answering….?” he grumbled.

“As I said, perhaps she is just busy,” Kaldur said. “She may not want to be bothered.”

**[10:30] KF:** _ Testing day at STAR Labs. Can’t talk. _

“Ah… That explains a lot… It’s testing day, so she’s gonna be out unless it’s an emergency.”

“Are we allowed to visit her while she’s testing?” M’gann asked. “What is she testing for?”

“It is just a check-up on her powers and how it is affecting her body,” Kaldur explained. “If any changes are detected, she will be given instructions to adjust herself to these changes. Usually, it is just a change in her diet, but sometimes it is a physical fitness problem.”

“They usually don’t have a problem with having an audience. She might’ve forgotten it was coming up,” Robin said. “Let’s ask Red if we can head out.”

Once permission was granted, Robin led the way to STAR Labs, checking in with the receptionist and taking the elevator down.

“I swear, Barry just gets faster and faster every time we do this,” came a female voice from down the hall as they stepped off the elevator.

“Wally has, too, but at a much slower rate…” a male voice replied.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Robin asked, smirking and walking into the lab. “Testing going well?”

“Hey, Robin!” the male scientist greeted. “We haven’t started yet. We’re comparing the speed increases of both of our resident speedsters and trying to figure out why Kid Flash is gaining speed at a slower rate than the Flash.”

“Any ideas?” he asked, seeming to forget about his companions.

“Not yet,” the female scientist said. “We’re going to run the usual tests and see what we can gather from the results before moving forward. Uh… Who are your friends?”

“Oh, right! Well, you already know Kaldur, but this is Superboy and Megan Morse! Guys, this is Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramone. They’re the ones who are in charge of everything to do with speedsters and super powered individuals in Central.”

“Superboy?” Cisco asked. “I didn’t know Superman had a kid…”

“He doesn’t. I’m a clone.”

“A clone! How exciting!”

“I don’t like wearing all of this!” an annoyed female voice complained from a nearby room. “It’s hard to move!”

“You say that every time we come for testing, kiddo,” Barry said. “It won’t take long and I’ll let you go first so you can take it off afterwards.”

“They don’t usually make us wear so much… What gives?”

“You can ask questions after you’re done with the tests. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you can take it all off.”

She gave a small groan, but didn’t argue further as she stomped into view.

Well, stomped the best she could.

She was covered in wires and other things that monitored her brain waves and heartbeat and other bodily functions. And judging by her grumbling, it was an undesirable condition she wanted to be in.

She spotted her friends, frowning and huffing as Robin stifled a laugh behind his hand.

“You laugh and I’ll tangle you up in these next.”

“Sorry for making you put all of these on, but we’re trying to figure something out,” Caitlin said, ushering her into another room with a treadmill. “Now, onto the treadmill you go. I don’t think I need to tell you what to do.”

The Team gathered around the observation window, watching as Wally stepped onto the treadmill and turned it on.

She started with a walk, slowly building up to a normal run.

Her speed increased more and more until it seemed to hit its peak.

Her heartbeat and vitals remained the same, showing no signs of exhaustion just yet.

“Hmm… Very very small increase in speed since the last time…” Caitlin mumbled to herself, writing down the numbers. “Vitals seem normal… Hm? What’s going on here?”

All eyes turned to the brain waves monitor.

The activity was insane, as if Wally was thinking of too much while she ran.

“This area shows that she’s digging up old memories… But this one shows that she’s thinking of other things… And the amount of stress going on… Is she okay, Barry? Anything going on at home?”

“Nothing that she’s talked about,” Barry replied. “I mean, she’s been pretty upset about Roy leaving, but she said she’s been working through it on her own. She’s not in school since it’s summer - and she finished all of her summer projects early - so it’s not that… Robin, has she said anything?”

“No. She was having doubts about the integrity of this whole Team thing since Batman hasn’t given us a single mission since we started. But other than that, she hasn’t said anything.”

“Hm… Interesting… One step closer to an answer.”

“You think stress is the reason she can’t reach the same speed as Barry?” Robin asked.

“Possibly. It’s part of the reason she’s so short. The amount of stress on her body while growing up affected her physical growth, however she still has a good growth spurt left in her. She’ll most likely either be shorter than Iris or about the same height as Iris,” Cisco said, making notes on the ever changing conditions of her brain activity. “I think we’ve got enough data for now.”

“Alright, Wally, you can stop and take all of that off.”

Wally slowed to a stop, hopping off of the treadmill and taking off everything on her as she stomped out of the room and into the room she had previously come out of.

“Wanna talk about it?” Robin asked, shutting the door behind him.

“I hate when they put all the stuff on me like I’m some kind of science experiment.”

“Seems like it’s more than just that. Stress levels were high in your head.”

“Yeah, well, maybe it’s just teenage angst! Ever think of that?” she snapped, pacing angrily back and forth.

Robin glanced behind him, catching Kaldur’s eye through the glass wall.

He gave him a thumbs up, signalling that he had it handled.

Kaldur gave a small nod, turning his attention back to the testing at hand.

“It’s just us in here, Walls. You can tell me anything.”

She made a few frustrated noises, kicking a stool out of her way as she paced.

“Why does everyone think there’s something wrong with me?!”

“...I’m not following.”

“I told Uncle Barry that I didn’t want to be medicated for anything! But with all this shit going on, everyone keeps saying I should get help, but I know they’ll prescribe me something to keep the anxiety away or make me less… less like me!”

“Why don’t you want medication?”

“Because I hate the idea of having to take something daily like that! Because then everyone will know about my problems and I don’t need it to become common knowledge that the West girl has issues! I know that’s what Caitlin and Cisco are doing out there!”

“Actually, they’re trying to figure out why you’re gaining speed at a slower rate than Barry. They looked over the previous data and you’re getting faster at an exponentially slower rate. Like, slow enough that you probably haven’t even realized you’ve gotten faster. They think it’s connected to your stress levels the same way your height is.”

“...I’m short because I’m stressed?”

The anger had left her voice, replaced by confusion.

“Yes and no. It’s not because you’re mentally stressed that you’re short. It’s because of the physical stress you went through that made you short. But Caitlin said you’ll probably be roughly Iris sized once you go through your growth spurt.”

She pouted slightly, glancing over at him and ceasing her pacing.

“...Why are you so good at making me less angry?”

He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Who knows? You don’t seem to mind, though! But, if I may make a suggestion,” he said. “If you don’t want to be medicated but you want to talk to someone, I suggest getting a hold of Black Canary. I hear she’s pretty good at giving counseling sessions. And she won’t medicate you, she’ll just talk you through your problems.”

“Speaking from experience, Boy Wonder?”

“Maybe so. Come on, let’s see if their stress theory is true.”

He held his hand out to her, giving her a small smile.

She hesitated for a moment before taking his hand, following him back into the main room.

“Hm… See, it could be related to her stress levels or it could just be a psychological thing in general!” Cisco said. “I mean, there was that one time Barry thought he lost his powers because he was sad!”

“I thought we agreed not to talk about that.”

“What do you mean a psychological thing?” Wally asked.

“Something in your head is convincing you that you can’t run faster. That maybe you’re not worthy or whatever. So your powers respond in kind and keep you almost stagnant in your development.”

“Interesting theory, but consider that the speedforce is an entity,” she responded, tone so casual as if what she said was common knowledge.

“...Kiddo, no offense but what the hell are you talking about?” Barry asked incredulously.

“The speedforce is an entity!” she insisted. “Are you trying to tell me that you’ve never seen them?!”

“No?”

“Okay, okay,” Robin said, stepping in between them. “Let’s take this slow. Wally, what do you mean that the speedforce is an entity?”

Wally took a deep breath, one both Kaldur and Robin recognized as the kind of deep breath someone took when they were trying not to yell at someone.

They had both seen it done by their mentors, after all.

“The speedforce is some kind of entity. I’ve met them before on multiple occasions and I thought it was normal for speedsters to be able to talk to the thing that granted them powers! Are you telling me they’ve never appeared to you?”

Barry opened his mouth to respond, but Robin held up a hand to stop him.

“Before you answer and we start an argument, let’s go with no. Start from the beginning and tell us about the speedforce.”

Another deep breath.

“Okay, so the first time I met the speedforce was when I first got my powers. Or, more specifically, immediately after I blew up my garage in an attempt to get powers… Uh, while I was in the hospital, they came to me the entire time I was unconscious and told me things! Lots and lots of things, but I think they knew I might forget some of it since they made sure to remind me every other time that I was told something before!

“They told me the first time that I was being stubborn and reckless in my attempts to gain powers, but they were going to reward me anyway! But as a small punishment, it would take a bit for them to kick in. They also said I’d get a bunch of new friends and I saw blurry silhouettes - some of them were of you guys - but that was all I could remember before I woke up. What was super weird was that they appeared to me as Roy the first time!

“After that, they would appear to me either when I was unconscious or while I was conscious. But when I’m conscious, they kinda shut my head down so we can talk uninterrupted. They started appearing to me as people I knew! Lately, it’s been either Rob or Kaldur, depending on what they want to talk about and my own feelings.

“They tell me really vague things about the future and people I’ll meet. They also tell me about the things I missed while growing up! But they’re still kinda vague about that stuff. Like, I asked about crushes and they kinda… answered but didn’t answer. Pretty much they told me I’d figure it out on my own. Thanks, All Knowing Speedforce… Incredibly helpful as usual…”

“You don’t know what a crush is, kiddo?”

“Not the point. The last time I talked to them, they said big changes were going to happen to my life just in this year alone. January 1st, 2011 is when they said big changes in short time periods would stop, so I just have to keep myself together until the end of the year.”

“And… And some entity calling itself the speedforce just… speaks to you sometimes?” Barry asked.

“Yeah, quite often actually. They said I need help, so they’re here to provide it until I no longer need their help. They might be the one putting a limit on my speed, actually. I could ask them the next time they come around!”

Everyone stared at her, unsure as to whether they should believe her or not.

“W-Well, can you contact them? So we can get some readings?” Caitlin asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh, I don’t contact them. They contact me. And they’re always sure to contact me outside of battle so I don’t get hurt.”

“And there’s no way to tell when they’re going to contact you next?”

“No. At least, not to me. The outside cues to other people can tell you when they’re talking to me. I just get sucked into a conversation with them.”

“So… When you’re just staring off into space, you’re talking to some kind of cosmic entity that calls itself the speedforce… and you believe it,” Robin said, disbelief clear in his voice.

“Why wouldn’t I? They never ask for any sensitive information and they already seem to know things without me telling them. Of course an omniscient being who chooses who gets to be a speedster would know things like secret identities and people I’d meet.”

She looked around at everyone, taking in their expressions and giving a small pout.

“...And none of you believe me. Fine, I see how it is. I’m going to Jitters. Don’t follow me,” she said, running out of the lab before anyone could stop her.

“The speedforce is an entity…?” Barry mumbled, crossing his arms as he mulled this over. “I’ve never encountered anything like that… I might have to ask Jay about it… But maybe it’s just something she came up with to cope? Something trauma-related?”

“I know she said to leave her alone, but maybe we should go after her…” Robin suggested. “I mean, she’s doing her best to work out her own problems, but talking to someone usually gets her to a solution faster. I could go!”

“I’ll go.”

All eyes turned to Superboy.

“What? But-” Robin started to protest, but Kaldur held up a hand and shook his head.

“Superboy may be able to understand where she is coming from due to his lack of knowledge of the world. No offense, of course.”

“None taken. I’ll go talk to her. See what this whole speedforce thing is about.”

“We will meet up with you later.”

Superboy nodded, heading out of STAR Labs and toward Jitters.

He could see her through the front window, though there were two other red headed people with her.

Neither of them looked like Iris and Wally looked tense and uncomfortable.

With a frown, he opened the door, the bell on the top signalling his arrival.

The baristas greeted him, though their voices sounded a bit strained and - now that he was inside - he could hear people whispering among themselves and glancing at the red headed trio in the middle of the cafe.

“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked, standing by the table and looking over at Wally. “Do you know these people?”

Wally nodded mutely, shock and fear on her face.

“Can we help you, son?” the man said, narrowing his eyes at Superboy. “This is a family matter.”

“Funny, you don’t look like Barry or Iris.”

The man slammed his hands on the table and got to his feet, glaring fiercely at him.

Superboy didn’t flinch.

But Wally did.

Superboy grabbed the back of Wally’s chair, yanking it back and giving himself enough room to force himself between her and these strangers.

“You don’t know a thing about our family, boy.”

“I know more than you think. And even if I didn’t, the way everyone here is reacting suggests you’re not supposed to be talking to Wally.”

The man moved to take a swing at him, but Superboy was faster.

He knocked his hand away and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him forward so they were eye to eye.

“Let go of me!”

“Oh, I’m gonna let you go alright… But it’s your choice if you wanna leave here in an ambulance or not.”

“You can’t threaten me! I’ll call the police!”

“Yeah? Go ahead. I’m sure they’d love to hear why you’re bothering the daughter you abused and no longer have custody of. I’m sure they’d love to hear why you’re even near her in the first place. So be my guest, asshole.”

The man swallowed, an audible gulp breaking the silence around them.

“If I ever hear you tried to talk to Wally again, I’m not going to give you the option of leaving with no injuries. Do you understand me?”

He gave a weak nod, Superboy dropping him unceremoniously and watching him with cold blue eyes as he and his wife scrambled out of the door.

Once he was sure they were gone, he turned to face Wally.

She still looked shell-shocked, trembling in her seat with whatever was left of her drink all along her front.

Her face turned pale, a shaky hand coming up to cover her mouth as she doubled over.

“Okay, okay… There’s a trash can right behind you, c’mon…”

He helped her up, guiding her to the trash can.

She coughed and gagged as she emptied her stomach, Superboy gently rubbing her back.

Once she had finished, he sat her back in her seat, pushing her chair closer to the table.

“I’ll be right back, okay? I’m just going up to the counter. You’ll be able to see me from here, okay?”

She nodded, though the movement was slight.

“Hey, uh… Sorry for causing a scene,” he said softly to the baristas. “Could I just get a water bottle for my friend?”

“It’s no trouble, really!” One of them said, waving her hands dismissively. “You actually saved us a lot of trouble with calling the police! You see, Wally is such a regular here that we all feel really protective of her, but at the same time, we’re not strong enough to stand up to her father! Before you guys leave, I’ll make your drinks for free if she wants anything! And don’t worry about paying for the water bottle, either! Just take good care of her.”

“That’s kinda one of my jobs…” he muttered, taking the water bottle. “Thanks.”

He set the water bottle in front of Wally, unscrewing the cap for her and guiding her hands to wrap around it.

“Drink and calm down. I’m not going to force you to tell me what they said to you or what they wanted. For now, just relax and get your mind in order.”

He sat across from her, keeping a hand on the bottom of the bottle as she drank with trembling hands.

“Did you bring your backpack with you? Do you have a change of clothes?”

A small nod as the water bottle was set down.

“Go change real quick. I’ll be right here when you get back.”

She disappeared into the bathroom for only a few minutes before returning, her shirt no longer stained and the slight tremble in her body mostly gone.

“Keep drinking your water. Like I said, I’m not going to force you to talk about what happened. But I’m here if you want to.”

They sat in silence for what felt like hours, Wally slowly sipping her water and Superboy keeping an eye out for her parents.

He didn’t think they would come back after he threatened them, but he couldn’t be so sure.

After all, they did just try to insert themselves back into her life with no consideration of her feelings.

“...They tried to pretend that they didn’t hurt me…” she finally whispered.

“...I figured that was the case. But you don’t have to listen to them.”

“I couldn’t move when they sat across from me… He said my name and… and I thought he was going to hit me and drag me back home… But he didn’t and I was confused a-and… and they kept saying how much I’ve grown and how mature I look now and… and I just let them stay near me…”

Superboy didn’t say anything, waiting for her to continue.

“Th-they told me that… that they want to get custody of me again a-and before I could say that Aunt Iris wouldn’t like that… you came in… and he showed me that he really hadn’t changed…”

“They don’t deserve even a fraction of your time. Especially if they think they can just waltz back into your life as if they weren’t the ones to ruin it. You have zero obligation to let them back into your life.”

She nodded, glancing up at him.

“Are you feeling better? You never did get the chance to finish telling me about that one exhibit at the Flash museum and I want to hear what you have to say.”

“Are you sure? It’s a lot and I’m sure the others are still waiting for us…”

“I don’t see why we can’t invite them along. They can meet us there.”

“But you won’t-”

“If you want to tell them, that’s up to you. I won’t say a word about what happened here. Do you want coffee? I have a feeling you didn’t get to finish your last one.”

“...That sounds alright… I’ll let the others know where to meet us… Can I hold your hand while we’re there?”

“Sure. Whatever helps you feel better. The usual?”

“...Yeah, the usual…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original draft of this chapter will never see the light of day...


	18. Drop-Zone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time did not feel real while writing this chapter.
> 
> It only took three days, but it felt like forever.
> 
> Also, can you believe that we are only canonically four episodes in?
> 
> The last iteration of this story had chapter 18 at the end of Season Two
> 
> This new pacing gives me life, I'm so happy with it.

Kaldur wasn’t sure this mission was going to end well for them.

Kid Flash was in her own mind almost constantly and whenever she wasn’t, she was practically attached to Robin or Superboy. Whichever one happened to be nearby and available.

Robin was always busy indulging Kid in whatever she went to him for, though Kaldur couldn’t help but notice the tension between them.

They never spoke when they were next to each other.

He feared that tension would snap at the wrong moment.

Superboy was… well, Superboy was Superboy and no one knew what went through his head. Least of all Superboy.

Neither he or Kid said a word about what happened at Jitters that day.

And M’gann was excited to be here, so he had that going for his Team.

_ His  _ Team…

That brought up another problem with the Team.

They still had no official leader. No one to keep everyone in line and come up with a plan.

The Team was a mess.

And yet, here they were.

On the Bio-ship.

Heading to their first official mission with no leader and only a fraction of a plan.

Kaldur had no doubt that Robin would run off on his own and that Kid would try to follow him.

Their mission was a simple one on paper.

All they had to do was get onto Santa Prisca, investigate the Venom factory, and get out.

A simple reconnaissance mission.

So why was he so uneasy about everything?

“We’re approaching the drop zone now,” M’gann said, breaking through the silence.

“Good. Miss Martian, camouflage the Bio-ship.”

She nodded.

Kaldur touched the symbol on his chest, his suit shifting into stealth mode.

A hole opened up in the bottom of the Bio-ship, Kaldur dropping through it.

“...Alright, let’s all shift into stealth mode,” Robin said.

“Looks like Rob isn’t the only one who can rock the all black look,” Wally said, though there wasn’t any heart into her teasing comment. “Yo, SB, you sure you don’t want in on the new stealth tech?”

“No capes, no tights… No offense.”

“It totally works for you,” M’gann said, a dreamy look on her face.

“Enough talk. We’ve gotta get down onto the ground,” Robin said.

One by one, the Team dropped to the ground, Wally checking for any nearby threats as Robin updated Kaldur on their status.

“Aqualad, we’re all on the ground.”

_ “Good. Head to the factory. I will meet you there.” _

“Copy that. We’ll make our way over.”

Robin gave Wally a nudge - a bit rougher than normal - and nodded in the direction of the factory.

She winced at the nudge, stumbling a bit and glaring at him.

“Quit spacing out and let’s go. Get your head in the game or we’re sending you back to the Bio-ship until the mission is over.”

“Jeez, we get one real mission and all of a sudden you’ve turned into post-Cadmus Roy…” she grumbled, pulling her goggles down to scan for threats as they walked toward the factory.

“Do you usually complain this much when you go on missions with the Flash?”

“I’m not gonna dignify that with a response. We’ve got two squads of armed bozos up ahead.”

“Are they heading in our direction?”

“They’ll meet each other before they even come close to us. We should-” she started to say, lifting up her goggles to see Robin had already disappeared. “Hey, wait for me!”

“Kid, wait!” M’gann protested, but she had already run off. “How does she even know where Robin went?”

“Good question for another time. She just tripped and fell right into the middle of that fire fight.”

“Enough talk! We must help Kid before she gets seriously hurt!” Kaldur said as he ran by them.

The fight went on for much longer than Kaldur would have liked, though they did end up capturing Bane.

“Those were definitely not Bane bozos,” Wally said, leaning against a nearby tree. “Looked like those Kobra weirdos…”

“Astute observation. How long did it take you to figure that out?” Robin retorted.

“Do we have a problem or something?” she asked, sounding offended, confused and hurt all at the same time.

“Enough! There will be no infighting!”

Kaldur stepped between them, knowing full well that Wally could quickly close any distance between herself and Robin.

“Clearly Batman did not know that the Cult of Kobra would be here or he would have told us during our mission brief. It is safe to assume that they took over the factory and are now hoarding Venom for themselves.”

“Then we’re not leaving until we find out what Kobra wants with all of it,” Robin said with a matter-of-fact tone.

“Excuse me?! Who died and made you leader?!” Wally practically screeched, Kaldur keeping her at arm’s length.

Robin laughed at her, smirking and crossing his arms over his chest.

“What? Do you want to be a leader?”

“Better than a 13 year old brat like you leading the Team! You don’t even tell us that you have a plan!”

“And you’re so mature at 15? You didn’t even understand birthday parties completely until recently.”

“At least I communicate plans to the people around me! I don’t just disappear and get all pissy whenever my Teammates don’t understand my unspoken plan! We’re not all Batman, okay?!”

“That’s rich, coming from the girl who just calls out someone’s name and says ‘Heads up!’ or something to warn them that she wants their help with an attack.”

“It works, doesn’t it?! I haven’t heard you complain before! Oh, wait! You’re never there when I need your help! Always off on your own thinking we’re blindly following you!”

“And yet you always end up trying to follow me! I don’t need your help! I’m not a basket case like you who makes up shit about the speedforce to seem smarter than everyone else!”

“Robin! That is going too far!” Kaldur scolded. “I made myself very clear that we will not fight amongst ourselves! Kid made a valid observation about our enemies and she was also correct in pointing out that you do not communicate your plans with us! And while I do agree with you on some things, now is not the time to bring them up! We will finish the mission and continue this conversation after the fact! Is that understood?”

“Fine. Whatever. The mission comes first,” Wally grumbled, turning away from her friends.

Bane chuckled lowly as he watched the sidekicks argue right in front of him.

“The girl is very clever,” he said, not missing the way her head tilted ever so slightly in his direction. “What she says is true. The Cult of Kobra took over my factory and kicked my men out in favor of their own. But I know of a secret entrance that you can take to get inside.”

Kaldur stared him down, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Normally, Kaldur wouldn’t be this on edge about receiving assistance from anyone, but with his two best friends fighting each other and tensions high, he found it hard to trust.

“Miss Martian.”

“Right away.”

M’gann’s eyes glowed as she tried to read Bane’s mind.

While she could see that he was telling the truth about the secret entrance, she found it hard to find anything else past all of the sports scores… in Spanish.

“...He’s telling the truth, but I can’t find anything else. He keeps reciting sports statistics in Spanish.”

“Tell us where the secret entrance is,” Kaldur demanded.

“I could tell you,” Bane said. “Or I could show you.”

“We have no reason to trust you.”

“You bring up a fair point. However, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Kaldur stared him down, narrowing his eyes more.

“...Very well. Superboy, untie him.”

Superboy nodded and did so without question.

On any other occasion he may have asked Kaldur why he thought he could trust Bane, but everyone was on edge anyway.

No need to start another argument.

“Take us to the entrance.”

The Team followed Bane, each and every one of them suspicious of why he was helping them.

“Woah…” Robin breathed as the factory came into view. “That’s a lot of crates of Venom…”

“Hm… And they’re all rushing around like they’re getting ready for something…” Wally mumbled. “A buy is probably going down. But who would need that much Venom…?”

“We’re going to find out. We are here for intel, after all.”

“I’m not taking orders from you. I was already going to look into it.”

“Do not start,” Kaldur warned. “I would say that you two would need to be separated, you are both highly skilled at gaining information. When we get inside, you will accompany each other and find out who the buyer is and why they need all of that Venom. No fighting, no arguing. Save for it after the mission.”

“Whatever…”

“Ultra mom friend mode activated…”

Superboy and M’gann glanced at each other, Superboy shrugging in confusion.

With Bane’s help, they managed to get inside the factory undetected.

Robin hurried off to look for a computer, Wally not far behind.

A tense silence filled the space between them as Robin hacked into their computer system.

He glanced over at her only to be met by the back of her head.

“...Look, I-”

“Did you find something?”

“...N-No, not yet…”

“Then don’t talk to me.”

He sighed, turning back to his work.

He couldn’t exactly blame her for being mad at him.

Calling her a basket case was taking it a step too far on his end.

But she didn’t want to talk unless it was mission-related and he would respect that for now.

“...Hey, check this out. What do you make of this?”

She heaved a sigh, turning to look at the screen.

“...That looks like the chemical make-up of the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus,” Wally said, pointing at one side of the screen. “And this is the make-up of Venom. And this-”

She stopped, Robin practically seeing the pieces connect in her head in real time.

“They’ve combined Blockbuster and Venom to make an entirely new compound. So much stronger than Venom, yet also highly stable… Aqualad, are you listening to this?” she said into her comm link.

_ “Yes, Kid. That explains why they are only shipping out the new crates.” _

**_“Heads up, we’ve got company,”_ ** Superboy said.  **_“Helicopter coming in.”_ **

“Looks like our buyer is here,” Robin muttered. “Can anyone get a good look at who it is?”

There was silence for quite a few moments, Wally and Robin ducking down behind the computer station so as not to be seen by whoever it was.

_ “Sportsmaster…”  _ Kaldur whispered over the comms.

“What would Sportsmaster want with Kobra Venom?” Wally whispered back, peeking out slightly to try and see.

“Nothing good, that’s for sure… Aqualad, did you contact the League? Or at least Red?”

The only response they received was static.

“Comms are jammed. Must have done it once Sportsmaster got here…” Robin muttered. “Looks like we’re on our own now.”

“We’re gonna have to fight our way out. Too many goons in the way and Sportsmaster has armed bozos with him…”

A shout caught their attention, both sidekicks looking to see Bane leaping off of the balcony and right into the middle of the factory, effectively gaining the attention of the cultists and Sportsmaster.

Frozen in shock, neither of them moved until they noticed their Teammates were out there fighting.

“We should-” she started, turning to look at Robin.

But he was already gone.

“Why does anyone even bother trying to talk to him?!”

With a frustrated huff, she dashed into battle, though she was careful to stay out of Superboy’s way as he fought some kind of mutant.

As she fought off cultists left and right, she felt a familiar twinge in her head.

Someone had linked into her mind telepathically.

_ Robin, regroup now! Kid, give us an escape route! _

Wally smirked, pulling her goggles down and running through a group of cultists, clearing a path for her Teammates to get through.

_ Path’s clear! Let’s get outta here and back to HQ! _

_ Excellent, Kid! Keep it clear for us! _

They escaped back into Bane’s secret passage, but they weren’t alone.

“We’ve got company behind us!” Wally and Superboy said together.

“Superboy, destroy the beams!” Kaldur ordered.

Without question, Superboy turned around and destroyed two of the support beams, collapsing the tunnel behind the Team and cutting off their pursuers.

Wally dug an emergency survival glow stick out of the many storage pockets in her costume, cracking it and bathing the tunnel in a red glow.

“So what now?” she asked softly.

“Depends on who decides that kind of thing,” Superboy said.

Robin let out a frustrated noise.

“Ugh, why did my first mission as leader end up as such a failure?! I have the most experience as a sidekick and yet we couldn’t even get on the island without someone finding out!”

Kaldur placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Perhaps you are just too inexperienced working with this kind of Team,” he suggested. “You are so used to working with Batman where your plans are unspoken and there is no need for communication. I believe Kid pointed this out to you earlier and you did not listen to her observation.”

He frowned and looked away guiltily.

Wally looked away as well, huffing softly.

“But this is not the same as working with Batman. We all require adequate communication to understand the plan and what needs to be done. And each and every one of us has a different set of skills that need to be utilized properly in whatever way they are needed.”

He thought for a moment, a smirk appearing on his lips.

“I dunno about you guys, but I think I found our leader. All in favor of Aqualad?”

They all raised their hands, Kaldur letting out a breath and smiling slightly.

“Very well, I accept. However, I will only be holding your place until you are ready to take it from me.”

“Thanks, Kaldur…”

“As your newly appointed leader, our first priority should be to ensure that shipment does not leave Santa Prisca. Listen close to the plan.”

The Team ran toward the exit of the secret passage, Superboy and Wally bringing up the rear as they kept watch for any threats.

“Not so fast,” came a familiar voice from the exit, Bane stepping into view with a trigger in his hand and a smirk on his face.

“You offer your assistance only to betray us. Why?” Kaldur asked, halting his Team and narrowing his eyes.

“I intended to use you to get my factory back, but you were less than helpful. So, instead, I will be killing you. Then the Justice League will come to avenge you and get rid of Kobra, leaving Bane to have Santa Prisca once more!”

His thumb lowered toward the trigger, but as he pressed down, nothing happened.

“What’s wrong? Lose somethin’?” Wally teased, waving the trigger at him.

“What?! Why, you little-”

Superboy threw a punch, knocking Bane out with one hit.

They carried his unconscious body away from the factory, tying him to a tree and leaving him there.

“Tch… They got the helicopter working again,” Robin said as they approached.

“Do not worry. We will not let them leave the ground.”

Leaping into the fray, Superboy and M’gann took on Sportsmaster while Wally kept the cultists at bay.

“Cool! New souvenir!” she said, plucking one of the cultist’s masks off and tucking it away.

She looked over to see that mutant from before getting electrocuted by Kaldur, Robin coming from the other direction with no sign of Kobra.

“Where’s-”

“Got away. I couldn’t beat him,” Robin said, looking a bit frustrated with himself. “Ah, shit… Sportsmaster is getting away!”

Turning to look, Wally saw the helicopter leaving the ground. With Sportsmaster and the Kobra Venom inside.

And then she noticed something stuck to the bottom of the helicopter.

“...He’s not getting away. Who put those on there?”

“Put what on where?!”

“The explosives that Bane had used to try and kill us! But, I thought we left them-”

She stopped, seeing the trigger in M’gann’s hand.

The trigger was pressed, the helicopter going up in flames.

A figure parachuted out of it.

The flaming helicopter hit the factory, blowing it up and destroying every last bit of Kobra Venom.

“Well… mission accomplished, I guess,” Robin said as they made their way back to the Bio-ship. “But I think we definitely chose the right leader. There’s no way we would have stopped Sportsmaster acting the way we were before.”

“Your words are kind, Robin. One day, it will be you coming up with plans and leading the Team.”

The trip back to Mount Justice was quiet, everyone exhausted and coming off of the adrenaline rush of fighting.

Robin glanced over at Wally, pressing his lips together when she wouldn’t meet his eye.

“This was a simple reconnaissance mission. You were to get in and get out with the intel,” Batman berated, glaring at the Team. “Make no mistake that I will be making a report on your many, many failures tonight.”

The mood around the Team turned sour, no one looking pleased with this “greeting” they received.

“That said, I’m impressed by your ability to not only adapt to a new plan, but choose a proper leader who is able to execute said plan on a moment’s notice. You are all dismissed for now. Aqualad, I need to speak with you.”

“Of course, Batman.”

“Hey, KF,” Robin said, hurrying to catch up with her as she walked off toward the showers and locker rooms to change. “Can we talk?”

“...Do you really think I’m a basket case?” she asked quietly. “And that I made up the speedforce thing?”

“I don’t think you’re a basket case. I shouldn’t have said that to you and I’m so sorry I did. And… ugh…”

He let out a sigh, trying to find the right words.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you about the speedforce being an entity, it’s just… How do I put this…?”

“...I know I’m the only speedster that has had contact with the speedforce like this, so I know it’s hard to believe and it’s hard for me to prove since I can’t control when it happens. It frustrates me, too, as a budding scientist. There’s some kind of scientific breakthrough going on in my own head and yet I can’t prove anything because I can’t replicate it on my own.”

“Well, what if - and with your permission of course - the next time it happens here, we get Miss M to link your mind to ours and see if we can see your conversation with them? It might work and it might not, but there’s only one way to try.”

“...I’ll think about it… And, uh,” she mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. “I don’t really mind that you don’t believe me about it, y’know? I just didn’t think that everyone would so openly admit it when I brought it up. I thought it was normal, so why would I think any differently?”

“That’s a hundred percent fair. C’mon, let’s hit the showers and see if there’s anything good in the kitchen. I dunno about you, but I’m starving.”

She let out a breath, looking exhausted.

“Breakfast and a nap sounds so good right now…” she mumbled. “We’ve been up all night… How do you do it?”

“Lots of caffeine. And eventually your body just gets used to it. C’mon, I bet SB will let you have the whole couch if you hurry up.”

“If he doesn’t, I’ll just lay on top of him…”

Robin laughed at that, walking deeper into Mount Justice with her.


	19. Schooled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I will be moving around the next couple of months.
> 
> Well, more specifically, I'm returning to Maryland tomorrow and will be going to Germany in December, so I will have periods of either no updates or very slow updates.
> 
> Especially if I'm at a place with no internet.
> 
> So my apologies in advance if updates seem slow.

“Oh, Superboy’s on the news!” Wally said excitedly, gesturing with her fork.

“Wally, honey, you’re getting syrup everywhere.”

“Sorry, Aunt Iris… Woah, Superman’s there, too!”

Iris let out a breath and shook her head fondly.

“Maybe you can ask him about what happened when you see him later today. Please finish your breakfast…”

“Where’d Uncle Barry run off to? Did he have work this morning?”

“An emergency came up at the CCPD so he had to go in early. He also said he was going to look for some of the things on your school supply list when he has some free time.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me that I’m starting school soon… I can’t believe I’ll be the only Team member starting school before September!”

“Usually you’re excited for school. What’s different now?”

“High school sucks, Aunt Iris. And of course I stand out as the one weirdo who doesn’t know anything about being a teenager. Like, what even is a crush and how do you know you have one?! Everyone else just says I’ll know if I have a crush! I have zero experience, people! Give me a hint!”

Iris paused for a moment, looking at Wally over her book.

“...Sweetheart, did you say you don’t know what a crush is?”

“That is the same tone that everyone else uses… Robin was the only one not surprised that I didn’t know what it was…”

“Okay, we’re going to have a talk. I can’t believe no one has explained it to you…”

“Finally!”

“But first you have to finish your breakfast and stop flinging syrup around whenever you see Superboy on the screen.”

“Sorry, I’m just excited!”

Iris smiled and shook her head a bit, setting down her book and looking over at the TV.

It was good that Superboy was getting some recognition. He had been so polite - though a bit awkward and mostly followed Wally’s lead - while he had been staying with them, and Wally spoke highly of him and all of her friends.

Though, she had mentioned that Superman was making him frustrated as he wouldn’t notice him or accept him.

And she could see what Wally meant.

**_“It was dangerous for you to jump on the collapsing bridge like that, Superboy!”_ **

_ “Well… maybe you could teach me how to better control my powers and see what my limits are…?” _

She watched as Superman paused for a moment.

**_“...Sorry, Superboy. Another time, maybe.”_ **

“Aw, poor SB… All he wants is to be like Superman, but the big man doesn’t want anything to do with him…” Wally mumbled around a mouthful of food.

“Honey, what did we say about talking with your mouth full?”

“Sorry…”

“Let’s clean up and then we’ll talk.”

Once plates were cleaned and syrup was wiped off of the table, Wally sat across from Iris.

“Okay, so tell me what you already know and we’ll go from there.”

“Uh, well… All I really know is that a crush is when a boy likes a girl or a girl likes a boy, but there was no elaboration on that…”

Iris nodded, thinking over what she was going to say carefully.

“Well, you’re not wrong, but someone should have told you that it’s when someone likes someone else in a romantic sense. As in, they probably want to date that person.”

Wally nodded, a spark of understanding in her eyes, though Iris could see there was something she still was confused about.

“What do you not understand, honey?”

“What’s the difference between romantic and platonic?”

“Oh boy… Let’s see how I can explain this in a way you’ll easily understand…”

After a few moments of silence, Iris let out a breath and leaned forward slightly, her hands folded in front of her on the table.

“Okay, so platonic feelings are… when you want to be friends with someone. And that’s the extent of your feelings toward that person. I’m sure you already know how that feels.”

“...Oh, so it’s like Kaldur and I have platonic feelings for each other ‘cause we’re friends!”

“Exactly. Romantic feelings are like what Barry and I have for each other. It’s more than platonic, but sometimes your platonic feelings develop into romantic feelings.”

“But how do you know if what you’re feeling is more than platonic?”

“Okay, let me ask you this before we continue. Is there someone on the Team that you think you might have a crush on?”

Wally pouted slightly, a light blush on her cheeks.

“All three of them?!”

“No! Well, maybe…! I-I mean, I don’t know that’s why I’m asking! That’s why I want to know how to tell!”

“Three boys at once. Just wait until your Uncle Barry hears about this,” Iris teased.

“No! No no no don’t tell him!” Wally said loudly, her face almost as red as her hair. “I’m asking ‘cause it might be four!”

“Four? Who else-”

There was a pause and then

“Roy Harper?! Seriously?!”

“Stop! Stop! I know already! Just tell me so I can be sure!”

After a few more minutes of teasing, Iris chuckled and smiled softly.

“Alright, alright. I’ll answer your question.”

Wally huffed and pouted, the redness in her face going down, but her cheeks were still bright.

“So, you’re already aware of what being friends with someone feels like. But when you feel like maybe your feelings are more romantic, you get that fluttery feeling in your stomach whenever they talk to you and you always find an excuse to be near them or talk to them. You always want them to see things from your perspective, but you can’t find yourself staying mad at them for too long if they don’t agree with you. It’s a lot of knowing yourself and how you react to others vs someone you’re interested in. You’re probably sick of hearing this, but trust me when I say you’ll know it when you feel it.”

“...If you say so…”

“It’s hard to explain. Trust me, I did my best. But now that you know somewhat what it feels like, maybe you can work it out yourself.”

“Maybe…”

A phone chime went off, both of them checking their phones.

“Oh, it’s mine!” Wally said.

**[8:45] Rob:** _ yo KF! we’re all getting ready for training at HQ! _

**[8:45] KF:** _ I’ll be right over! _

**[8:45] Rob:** _ make sure you wear your costume! _

“Looks like I gotta go. Uh… Thanks for helping me out, Aunt Iris. I think I get it… kinda…”

“Have fun and be careful. I don’t wanna hear about any of you crazy kids getting hurt.”

“We’ll be careful, I promise! We’re just gonna be doing some training from what Rob said. I should be back later tonight!”

“Like I said, be careful. Superboy probably doesn’t realize how easily he can throw you around.”

“Maybe so, but we can turn that into a battle tactic!”

Wally disappeared upstairs, returning in her Kid Flash costume with a backpack on her shoulders.

“Um… You’re not really going to tell Uncle Barry… are you?”

Iris smiled and shook her head.

Wally smiled back, bidding her goodbye before rushing out of the door and to the nearest Zeta tube.

“Ah, there she is,” Robin said as Wally appeared inside Mount Justice. “Morning, KF.”

“Good morning, Rob. Did you see Superboy on the news this morning?”

“I did. Good on him for saving those kids, but the aftermath…”

“Yeah… That could have gone better on Superman’s part…”

Wally peeked around Robin to see Superboy brooding on the other side of the room.

“That’s not a good look…”

“Nope. And I’m pretty sure he can hear us.”

“I can!” Superboy called out.

“Oops. Anyway, when’s Black Canary supposed to get here for training?” Wally asked.

“Not for a few more hours, but Red said that we all needed to be here early.”

“Jeez, did he think I wouldn’t get here in time? Well, how about we just do some sparring matches before she gets here?”

“Sounds good. Regular hand-to-hand combat, no powers?”

“To make it fair for you, of course,” she teased, setting her backpack down.

“Are you kidding? This will give me a leg up since I don’t have to worry about catching you.”

She laughed and stepped into the middle of the room with him, the floor lighting up in a ring to show the borders of the sparring circle.

“Ladies first.”

“Oh, how kind of you. But if that’s the case, you should be throwing the first punch.”

“Why, you-!”

Robin darted forward, aiming a punch at Wally.

She grinned and caught his hand, laughing a bit and catching his other hand when he went for another punch.

“Bad move, Rob,” she teased, yanking him close to her and kicking his legs out from under him, using the fact that he couldn’t use his hands to slam him onto the ground.

“Ooh, very good, Kid Flash,” came a voice from behind her.

Wally released her hold on Robin’s hands, turning slightly to see Black Canary.

“Excellent use of your own mobility. However, you may want to pay attention when your opponent can still move.”

Before she could ask what she meant, she found herself flat on her back on the floor next to Robin.

“Dirty move! I won and you know it!”

“While you may have won the sparring match,” Canary said, helping both of them up. “An enemy isn’t going to just lay there after one hit. You need to be prepared for anything. Though, I would like to see you take on someone using your powers instead of limiting yourself.”

“Okay. I was only holding back because Rob asked me to. Who’s my opponent?”

“Hmm… Normally, I would choose Aqualad, but he’s wise to your tricks and has too much experience seeing your fighting style. But you need a bigger opponent than Robin…”

Canary looked around, finally spotting Superboy and smiling.

“Superboy. Come spar with Kid Flash. Consider it a lesson in combat. Do try not to hurt her too badly. She’s a tiny thing, you know?”

“If he can catch me, I think he has every right to throw me. But only if he can catch me and keep a hold on me long enough to do it,” she teased, stepping back into the center of the sparring ring, one hand on her hip as she waited for Superboy to join her.

“This’ll be over quick,” he said, stepping into the ring.

“I would not be too sure, Superboy,” Kaldur said from the sidelines.

“Yeah, KF is a tougher opponent than you think!”

“We’ll see if you’re right, Superboy,” Canary said, stepping out of the circle. “You may begin.”

Superboy made to grab Wally, but she was gone before his hands even touched her.

He felt two quick jabs in the small of his back and one swift kick at the back of his knees in an attempt to bring him down.

He spun around, reaching out to grab her again.

She retaliated by hitting his hands away and elbowing him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him and giving her that moment to run out of his grasp.

“Is that all you’ve got, SB? I expected better.”

He let out a frustrated shout, grabbing the front of her costume and lifting her off the ground easily.

“Woah, hey, Superboy…! It was just a joke…! Calm down!”

He ignored her words, raising his fist and preparing to hit her.

In a state of panic, she kicked out.

One foot hit his chest.

The other nailed him in the jaw, causing him to drop her.

As he was recovering from the hit, his feet were swept out from under him, his back hitting the floor.

With a growl, he propped himself up on his elbows, glaring at Wally.

She was standing as far from him as possible, her hands raised defensively and fear in her eyes.

“I think that’s enough. Well done, Kid. Martian Manhunter has the Team’s water bottles in the kitchen,” Canary said.

Once she was sure Wally was gone, she turned to the rest of the Team.

“Can anyone tell me what Superboy did wrong?”

“Oh, oh!” Robin said eagerly, raising his hand.

“Yes, Robin?”

“He underestimated his opponent just because she was smaller and weaker than him?”

“Excellent answer. Anyone else?”

“He assumed the fight was on his terms because of his superior strength and therefore remained reactionary to Kid’s movements rather than acting,” Kaldur said.

“Correct. And that is the exact reason he lost. Though, I don’t think it helped Superboy that he activated Kid Flash’s fight or flight instincts. Being attacked by a scared speedster is no joke.”

“Well, maybe I don’t need more training from you!” Superboy snapped. “Maybe I need training from someone who actually understands my powers!”

“And believe me, we’re trying,” she said calmly. “But until then, you are expected to train with me and the rest of the Team.”

“Tch. Whatever. I’m leaving.”

_ “Attention, Team,” _ came Batman’s voice from an incoming transmission.  _ “We have a new mission for you. All of you.” _

Superboy scoffed.

“What’s going on?” Robin asked, Wally appearing at his side as they gathered around.

_ “Earlier today, a new threat attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary. It was an android called Amazo and it seemed as if it could learn new powers with each different encounter. The problem arose when it got stronger with each new reinforcement we threw at it. It took eight Leaguers and four hours to defeat and dismantle it.” _

“Sounds like T.O. Morrow’s work.”

“We have already ruled out that possibility,” Red Tornado said.

An image of the android was displayed, Martian Manhunter taking a look.

“That looks like Professor Ivo’s work. However, he has been presumed dead for years now.”

“So where do we come in with all of this?” Wally asked.

_ “The remains of the android will be transported to STAR Labs facilities in Boston and Manhattan, with additional trucks acting as decoys. You all will escort the real trucks. Civilian clothes will be required to lessen suspicion around the trucks.” _

Once everyone had changed, they were led to the rendezvous point, motorcycles waiting for each of them.

“The five of you will be split into two teams,” Red said. “Robin and Superboy will track the Manhattan truck. Kid Flash, Aqualad and Miss Martian will track the Boston truck. The League will not be offering assistance on this mission as there is no perceivable threat for your journey. Once you see to it that the trucks and parts make it safely to STAR Labs, you will return here to regroup.”

“Understood. Let’s move,” Kaldur said, pulling on his helmet.

“Do you think Superboy’s okay?” M’gann asked once they were split up. “He seems angrier than usual…”

“I am sure he will be fine. This quiet mission will give him plenty of time to clear his head.”

Wally stayed quiet on the subject, though Kaldur didn’t miss the way she ducked her head slightly.

“Kid? Do you know something?”

“Mm… Nothing new, honestly… Just that he was on the news this morning and well, his interaction with Superman did not end well… All he wants is for Superman to notice him and have some kind of relationship with him, but the big man himself isn’t for that idea, I guess… That’s why he’s so angry… Me beating him in that sparring match just piled onto that…”

“He will get over it. You have a unique fighting style and he was not prepared nor willing to adapt to it.”

“I’m just fast… I mean, my hand-to-hand combat skills are subpar…”

“You took on Robin with no trouble! Even without your powers! And he’s all about hand-to-hand combat!” M’gann chimed in.

“We are all still learning, Kid. That was a learning experience for us all.”

Wally didn’t reply, her attention drawn to something else.

“...Do you hear that? It sounds like… monkeys?”

“Monkeys? We are too far away for-”

A swarm of robotic monkeys seemed to come out of nowhere, aiming for the truck and the android parts inside.

“Shit… How’d they even know this wasn’t a fake?!”

“Robin! We have a problem!” Kaldur said into their comm link.

_ “If it’s robot monkeys, then we have the same problem!” _

“Great… Someone knew which trucks had the parts!” Wally said, ditching her bike to climb on top of the truck and fight off the robots.

“We have no choice but to fight and protect the cargo. Kid, keep them out of the truck!”

“Already on it! But I could use a hand!”

M’gann jumped off of her bike, floating up to the top of the truck to help Wally with Kaldur doing his best to fend them off from around the truck.

“There’s too many of them!” M’gann called out.

“They’ve got the parts!” Wally shouted.

Kaldur’s head snapped up, frowning as some of the surviving robots flew off with their half of the android parts.

“Robin, report.”

_ “Our parts were stolen and Superboy went off on his own to chase after them. He ditched his comm link, so I can’t get a hold of him. What about your end?” _

“Our parts were stolen as well. And I did not receive reports of the decoy trucks being attacked. Miss Martian, can you track either Superboy or Ivo?”

“No… I think they might be out of range.”

_ “Hang on… If the decoy trucks weren’t attacked…” _ Robin mumbled over the comm link.  _ “Ah-ha! The parts have GPS tracking on them! Looks like the parts are going to meet up at… Gotham City?” _

“That’s too far for us to catch up before the android is reassembled…” M’gan said softly.

“Not for me. I’ll run over on foot and meet Rob and SB there. You two catch up as quickly as you can,” Wally said, tossing her helmet aside and pulling on her goggles instead.

“Be careful, Kid.”

She nodded, running off toward the coordinates Robin sent her.

Tracking both the coordinates and Robin himself, she found herself outside of Gotham Academy.

She shed her civilian clothes, revealing her hero costume underneath as she rushed inside the gymnasium.

She first spotted Robin clambering in through a window.

And then she saw Superboy struggling to fight back against Amazo.

“Heads up!” she called out, rushing over and managing to beat Amazo back enough to get his attention away from Superboy.

Unfortunately, that meant Amazo’s attention was now on her.

Before she could run out of his grasp, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground, not even flinching as she struggled.

“Superman,” he said in a monotone voice.

The pressure around her body increased as he slowly crushed her with his arms.

“KF!”

“Kid Flash!”

The pressure increased, Wally almost sure her ribs were either going to crack or break.

“Martian Manhunter.”

Suddenly, she fell to the floor, eyes following an arrow that landed by Robin’s feet.

Wasting no time, she quickly got away from Amazo, catching her breath.

“What do we do? It took eight Leaguers to take this thing down! We’re three sidekicks!”

“I have an idea,” Superboy said, smirking as he jumped up onto the bleachers, aiming for Ivo instead of Amazo.

“Amazo, protect your master!” a panicked Ivo ordered, scrambling away from Superboy.

“Superboy, think fast!” Robin called out, throwing a batarang at Amazo’s head.

“Martian Manhunter.”

Amazo became intangible, Superboy thrusting his fist through his head.

As he became tangible again, Superboy’s fist stuck in his head.

There was a small explosion and Amazo’s headless body dropped to the floor.

By the time Kaldur and M’gann met up with them and secured the android, Ivo was gone.

But the arrow that had saved Wally’s life was still there.

“Ivo is now a League problem. Leave finding him to us. For now, you all did well despite the complications. Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League,” Batman said once everyone had returned to Mount Justice.

“The whole League?” Superboy asked.

“Given time, yes.”

Superboy looked down, a small frown on his lips.

“Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads.”

Superboy gave a small smile at that.

“If you are ever in need of some more… heavy duty reinforcements, the Team may call on the League for help.”

Robin scowled at that, pulling out the arrow from their fight with Amazo and holding it up.

“You’re seriously going to say that to us after tonight?! You’ve been following and babysitting us the entire time!”

Green Arrow, without a word, pulled out one of his own arrows and held it out so Robin could see….

The arrow heads were different.

“Oh… That’s not yours… But if it’s not yours, then…”

“Perhaps Speedy is still looking after us,” Kaldur finished. “Or perhaps, at least one of us.”

“If he’s looking out for me, he better answer my calls! All I do is leave voicemails and he never calls back!” Wally protested.

Her eyes drifted to the arrow that had saved her, a thoughtful look coming across her face.

The feathers on the end were green.

Roy always used red feathers in order to differentiate his arrows from Oliver’s.

And that arrow head was not familiar to her at all.

So who had shot that arrow?

“Kid Flash, I believe Superboy wants a rematch,” Black Canary said loudly, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“A rematch? Is he ready to get beat by me again?” she teased, running over to the sparring ring. “Careful around the ribs, okay?”

“I won’t break anything.”

“Ready? Begin!”


	20. Infiltrator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know I said updates may be slow, but I've been put onto self-isolation for two weeks until my class starts.
> 
> So maybe, with all my free time, I'll be updating more often.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this Artemis chapter.

“Up and at ‘em, kiddo!” Barry called as he passed by Wally’s door. “Don’t wanna miss your first day of school, do you?”

Wally groaned loudly into her pillow, huffing as she sat up.

Why was she cursed to start school in August? She was missing all the fun with her friends today!

With another huff, she trudged downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Loving the hair this morning. Really gives off that you just woke up, Walls.”

“Ugh… I’ll fix it before I leave…”

“I have your backpack all ready to go by the door, honey,” Iris said. “And I made your favorite this morning so maybe you’d cheer up a bit. You know what I’ve told you before.”

“A bad mood makes a bad day,” they said together.

“Yeah, I know… But I’m the only one starting school today! Rob had to rub it in last night by saying they’d all be spending the day at the beach without me!”

“Jeez, that kid can be cruel when he wants to be…” Barry said, wincing a bit himself. “But look on the bright side, kiddo. You start school earlier and you end school earlier. Your summer vacation starts before theirs, so you can rub it in Robin’s face.”

“Mm… I guess so…”

He smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately.

“Chin up, kiddo. You’re gonna have a good day, right? First days are never  _ that  _ terrible.”

She opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off.

“Okay, middle school didn’t count. That was a brand new school and you had just gotten out of a bad situation.”

Wally pouted, going quiet as she ate her breakfast.

Once she was finished, she changed into her school clothes, fixing her hair the best she could and pulling out her phone.

**[7:30] Rob:** _ do your best to survive today, KF! _

**[7:30] Kaldur:** _ Have a good day at school, Kid. _

A tiny smile appeared on her lips.

Of course they wanted her to have a good day.

And of course Robin didn’t actually mean to tease her, knowing she wanted desperately to join in on the fun.

But instead of replying to them, she sent a text to someone else.

**[7:32] Wally:** _ I’m starting my sophomore year of high school today! Wish me luck! _

She waited, staring at her phone for a few moments, hoping for a reply.

_ Read at 7:33. _

She sighed, putting her phone back in her pocket.

That was honestly the best she’s ever gotten from her lost friend.

He never responded. Only read her messages.

“Wally, sweetheart, are you ready to go?” Iris called from downstairs.

“Coming!”

Rushing downstairs, she grabbed her backpack and opened it to check its contents out of habit.

“You’ve got everything on your school supply list as well as blank notebooks, art supplies, and some extra snacks just in case you need it for whatever reason,” Barry said.

“Mm… Hang on, I wanna put some more stuff in here,” she said, running back to her room and digging through her Team backpack, taking the notebooks out and placing them gently in her school backpack.

She wasn’t feeling today.

Really, she wasn’t.

But maybe looking through her friends’ notebooks during the day would help her feel just a little better.

She placed a red notebook in the front of her backpack where she could grab it first, fingers brushing over the actual arrow head taped to the front.

“Wally, let’s get going! You’re gonna be late!”

Quickly, she zipped up her backpack and pulled it onto her shoulders, running back downstairs.

“You positive you got everything?” Barry asked, smiling at her.

She nodded, trying to smile back.

“You’re gonna have a good day, kiddo. And just think! You’ll get to see your friends after school, just like the last year and the year before!”

“...Not all of them…” she mumbled.

Barry gave her a soft look, ruffling her hair again.

“No bad thoughts, okay? Bad thoughts lead to a bad day. And no one likes bad first days, right?”

“I’ll try and have a good day…”

“That’s all I ask. C’mon, I’ll take you to school,” he said, leaning down to whisper to her. “Don’t tell Iris, but I’ll buy you a coffee before school starts.”

True to his word, Barry took her to Jitters and got her favorite drink before dropping her off outside of the school.

“Okay, Walls… You just have to get through the day…” she mumbled to herself, taking a sip of her coffee.

As she walked up the steps to the door, someone bumped into her from behind, her coffee falling to the ground.

“Hhh… Alright then…”

With no coffee and her mood worsening, she trudged into school, prepared to have the worst day of her life.

The day seemed to drag, Wally finding it hard to pay attention during her classes and checking her phone every so often just to see if Roy replied to any of her messages.

Of course he didn’t.

Nothing seemed to be going her way.

She was heavily targeted in gym class during the dodgeball game.

It was extra challenging since she wasn’t allowed to use her powers or risk people knowing her secret identity.

And then the water fountain malfunctioned when she tried to take a drink, splashing water onto her pants.

And to top it all of, it seemed like she was being tormented more and asked for help less from her classmates.

She chalked it up to everyone trying to figure themselves out and picking on the weird smart kid to make themselves feel better.

As the last bell rang, she tried to shake herself out of her bad mood.

It wouldn’t do anyone any good if she was this upset while on a mission.

And she didn’t need anyone worrying about her. Bad days at school weren’t worth anyone’s worry.

She came home to an empty house, but that was to be expected.

Aunt Iris worked for a few more hours and Uncle Barry could get a new case at any moment.

If he wasn’t home by dinner, he probably just got last minute work.

So she left a note on the fridge saying where she was going and if she wasn’t back by dinner, she’d be back by morning.

She changed outfits, being sure to wear her costume underneath her civilian clothes, switching backpacks and placing her notebooks back inside.

Before she left, she checked her phone again.

Still nothing from Roy.

With a heavy sigh, she pulled on her Team backpack and made her way to Mount Justice.

_ Recognized Kid Flash B03 _

Wally came running in, trying to skid to a stop.

She tripped over her own feet, falling on her face in front of everyone.

She heaved a sigh, raising her head slightly.

“This may as well happen…” she grumbled.

“Ooh, nice entrance. Do you usually trip and fall on nothing like that?” a mocking and unfamiliar voice said.

Wally pouted and got to her feet, looking to see a blonde girl in a green costume with a bow and a quiver of arrows on her back.

Green Arrow, Batman and Red Tornado were also here.

Wally scowled, looking over this new archer.

“Who are you?”

“Artemis. Your new teammate.”

“Yeah, okay. We don’t need you on our Team.”

“Oof, I told you she wouldn’t like this,” Robin whispered to Kaldur.

“It seems this is just adding onto her already sour mood,” Kaldur added. “This is not going to end well.”

“She’s my new protege!” Green Arrow said proudly.

“What happened to your old one?” she asked, practically snapping the question.

_ Recognized Speedy B06. _

“I go by Red Arrow now,” Roy snapped at the computer.

Wally stared at him with wide eyes, hurrying over to greet him.

“Y-You’re here…! Did you get my messages? I was worried when you wouldn’t respond!” she said, following just behind him as he walked past her.

“I see you didn’t waste any time to replace me. Who is this?” Roy asked, not even bothering to acknowledge Wally’s presence.

No one missed the way this didn’t deter her from staying near him and watching him with wide adoring eyes.

“I’m his niece.”

“She’s my niece.”

The two statements were said over each other, Artemis and Green Arrow looking at each other.

Instantly, doubt crossed over both Roy and Wally’s faces.

Robin scoffed in disbelief, rolling his eyes behind his domino mask.

“Do not misunderstand, Red Arrow,” Kaldur said, taking a step forward. “You will always have a spot on our Team.”

“We only have room for one archer anyway,” Wally grumbled.

Roy glared at Artemis, Wally right behind him doing the same.

“I didn’t come here to start fights on  _ replacements _ ,” Roy said, bringing up a profile for everyone to see. “I rescued Dr. Serling Roquette from the League of Shadows. Unfortunately, she managed to finish the weapon she was building for them. The Fog.”

“What is that?” Wally asked.

“It’s a nanotech weapon capable of disintegrating anything in its path, all while collecting valuable data. With it, the League of Shadows can gain all sorts of intel and tech.”

“The Shadows will most likely use that intel for extortion, manipulation, and power broking. Typical Shadows stuff,” Artemis put in, earning her more glares from the red headed duo.

“What do you know about the Shadows?” Wally questioned.

She didn’t respond, only giving Wally a smug grin.

“I have Dr. Roquette holed up in a local computer lab where she’s currently working on a virus to neutralize the Fog. I came here to pass off the mission.”

“Let’s work on this case together! Just like the old days!” Green Arrow said, moving to step toward him.

Batman shot him a look and he stopped.

“Well, at least join the Team and help them out! They could use your expertise and skills!”

“I don’t think so. I just came here to pass off the mission to someone else. I’m not interested in being the League’s plaything.”

With that, he turned and shoved past Wally, leaving Mount Justice all together.

She turned and glared directly at Artemis, the archer glaring right back at her.

“Hey! Why don’t you go get changed, KF?” Robin said, physically inserting himself between the two girls and diverting Wally’s attention somewhat successfully. “Come on, I’ll help you find a good locker to keep your backpack safe.”

“I know where the locker room is!” she snapped, storming off to change.

“She will adapt,” Batman said. “Prepare yourselves to leave for your mission as soon as Kid Flash returns.”

Tensions were high as the Team departed for their mission.

Wally would not stop glaring at Artemis, despite Robin and Kaldur’s best attempts to distract her.

With their minds connected through a telepathic link and the Team posted around the building to protect Dr. Roquette, things started to spiral.

_ Jeez, what’s the redhead’s problem? _

_ Excuse me?! You’re my problem! _

_ I didn’t mean you, but now that you mention it… _

_ Go easy on her, KF. She was the one who saved you from Amazo. _

_ Yeah, as if that makes up for the fact that she stole this spot on the Team! _

_ Kid, relax. Red Arrow will always have a place on the Team. Artemis did not take anything from him. _

Artemis smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

_ Is that Red Arrow guy your boyfriend or something? _

If Kaldur hadn’t grabbed Wally when he did, Artemis would have felt the full force of a speedster’s punch.

Dr. Roquette groaned and put her head in her hands.

_ My life is in the hands of a bunch of teenagers… _

_ Artemis, perhaps you should join Miss Martian outside. _

_ Whatever. _

Artemis hopped off the desk she was sitting on, leaving the room.

Wally roughly pulled herself from Kaldur’s grasp, sulking a corner by herself.

_ What a basket case… _

Wally let out a frustrated shout and gripped her head.

_ I CAN STILL HEAR YOU! _

_ We can all hear you. Enough fighting. _

With the terrible mood around the Team, Kaldur should have expected the mission to start taking a nosedive.

As soon as Dr. Roquette went online to track the Fog, they were targeted by assassins.

The Team fought them off the best they could, Artemis even chasing one down out of the building.

And lucky for them, the hit was only so Dr. Roquette couldn’t finish and upload the virus.

She was successful in uploading the virus, effectively neutralizing the hit on her life.

“You let the assassin get away?!” Wally shouted at Artemis, gesturing with the cat-like mask left behind by said assassin.

“Kid, please,” Kaldur said. “Did you at least see her face?”

“No… It was too dark and I didn’t get a good look…”

“Very well. Our mission is completed, then. Dr. Roquette will be moved to a safe location and we will return to Mount Justice for our mission report. Robin, would you and Kid go on ahead and alert Red Tornado of our victory?”

“But we don’t usually-” M’gann started.

“Yeah, sure thing. C’mon, KF. We can find a nice spot for your new souvenir.”

Before Wally could protest and start yet another argument with Artemis, Robin grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

“There’s a Zeta tube nearby that we can use. And then you can take out your feelings on Artemis’s notebook all you want.”

“Maybe she’s not going to get one…”

“That is a total lie you just said. If it was about whether you liked someone or not, you wouldn’t have villain notebooks. And I know this isn’t just about Artemis.”

“...She’s lying. And hiding so many things.”

“I know. GA doesn’t have a niece. Honestly, she’s really suspicious, but if GA and Batman are vouching for her, we should trust that she was put on the Team for a reason.”

She pouted at that as they stepped into Mount Justice.

“...He acted like I didn’t even exist…”

“I know…”

“Where is the rest of the Team?” Red asked when he finally spotted them.

“Aqualad sent us ahead. Mostly to separate KF and Artemis. Our mission was a success.”

“Very well. Kid Flash, this message was left for you.”

Red handed Wally a slip of paper before leaving them be.

Confused and curious, she opened the paper.

_ Meet me on your brooding building after your mission. _

“...You think I’ll be needed for anything regarding mission reports?”

“Well, seems like the rest of them are back, so you may as well stay for mission debrief and notebook time.”

The mission report went by fairly quickly.

And the notebook report went by with both written and verbal arguments.

Several pages were ripped out and thrown away.

Wally huffed as she left, easily finding the building she always sat on to think and running to the top of it.

“Of all the ways you could’ve contacted me, you chose to ignore all of my calls and texts just to leave a note with Red?”

Roy huffed a laugh, turning to look at her.

“Good to see your personality is adopting Robin’s sass.”

“Ignoring me gets you no warm welcomes. What do you want?”

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I didn’t realize how much me leaving shattered your world. And yeah, I fucked up in that sense. But that doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you. I have been keeping tabs on you and saving every message you sent me. That notebook thing you do is excellent for that kind of thing.”

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“So why not join the Team? Now I’m stuck with Artemis. And she’s sketchy as all hell.”

“I know. But I’m not going to work under League terms if they weren’t willing to have me as a member. And believe me when I say, you and Robin won’t be the only ones keeping an eye on her.”

“So did you just come here to give some kind of half-assed apology and tell me you still cared? Because I find that fact really hard to believe after everything you’ve said and done. If what you say is true, you’ve got a lot to make up for to convince me. Now, I need to get home and get some sleep so I’m not a fucking zombie at school tomorrow.”

“Wait, Walls-”

She flipped him off, running back down the building and back home.

“Welcome home, kiddo. How’d the mission go?” Barry asked softly when she slammed the door closed.

“I hate my new Teammate and I want to strangle Roy Harper.”

“Ooh, that’s a lot… Let me reheat your dinner and then you can tell me all about this.”

Wally huffed and sat down, pulling her cowl off.

“So, does this new Teammate have a name?”

“Artemis. And she claims to be Ollie’s niece.”

“...That’s… suspicious.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I don’t know who she is or what she’s doing on the Team, but I’m forced to work with her because Ollie and Batman vouched for her.”

“Okay, and what about Roy?”

She slammed her hand down on the table, gesturing wildly as she talked.

“He has the balls to ignore me every time I try to contact him and then he just strolls on into Mount Justice! Not even to see me or anything like that, no! He was there to dump a mission he didn’t want anymore on the Team and get pissy with Ollie for having a new protege! And then he just ignored me the entire time he was there, didn’t even bother joining us for the mission, and called me to the top of a building just to give some half-assed apology! Augh! Why is he acting so frustrating all of a sudden?!”

“Woah, woah… Calm down and lower your voice. Deep breaths, alright?”

She took a few deep breaths, the redness in her face starting to die down.

“You don’t want to hear this, but maybe you should give him space. Just… stop trying to contact him. If he really wants you to see he cares about you, he’ll talk to you, not the other way around.”

“He didn’t even bother responding to my texts… He just left a note with Red and expected me to have the time to even receive it after our mission…” she mumbled.

Tears dripped down her cheeks, all of her anger and frustration melting into sadness.

“You don’t have to keep trying to preserve your friendship with him.”

She sniffled and looked up at him.

“If he’s making you feel like this and ignoring you every time you try to talk to him, you don’t have to keep trying.”

He smiled and placed a hand on her head.

“And who knows? Maybe you and Artemis will be better friends than you think. Just give her a chance. Maybe you two have something in common.”


	21. The Divide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't hate Artemis, I swear.

“Are you going to be spending all day with your friends?” Iris asked as she set a plate of pancakes down in front of Wally.

“Most likely. But if there’s no missions, I’ll be back by dinner time.”

“And you’re not going to fight with Artemis this time?”

“Okay, listen. She called me a basket case and I took offense to that! And I was just having a bad day in general during that mission, so Uncle Barry said maybe we just got off on the wrong foot.”

“Fair enough. But I don’t want to hear about any fighting unless it’s fighting villains.”

“Yes, Aunt Iris. I understand.”

“Good girl. Finish your breakfast and get going, then.”

Wally cleared her plate quickly, washing it and running upstairs to check her backpack.

She made sure each of her friends’ notebooks were there, as well as Roy’s and the new one she had made for Artemis.

There was nothing good written about Artemis in there.

Maybe making a new notebook for a Teammate while she was angry wasn’t the best idea, but she wasn’t going to start a new one.

The only reason there would be two or more notebooks for one person was if the first one was filled.

“Okay, I’m heading out Aunt Iris!” she called out as she opened the front door.

“Have fun and be safe, honey! Oh, and we may be home late! I’ll text you if you need to pick something up for dinner!”

“Okay, no problem! I’ll see you later! Love you, bye!”

Wally rushed out of the house, using a nearby Zeta tube to get into Mount Justice.

“The party’s here!!” she called out, running into the kitchen and setting down her backpack.

“Does the party have coffee?” Robin asked with a smirk.

“The party will go back and get coffee if someone helps her carry all those cups.”

“I’ll join the party in getting coffee. Does anyone else want to come to Jitters?”

“What the hell is Jitters?” Artemis asked, looking over the back of the couch.

“Only the best coffee shop in Central City. Want to come?” Wally asked. “Everyone on the Team gets a specialized drink based off of them.”

Artemis raised a brow at her friendly tone.

Wally didn’t blame her for thinking she wasn’t trying to be genuinely nice.

To Artemis, it probably looked like Wally did a full 180 on her personality.

“I think it would be a good idea for you to go along with Kid and Robin,” Kaldur said. “Kid tends to go overboard with her coffee orders.”

Artemis sighed, but got to her feet.

“Alright, let’s go on a coffee trip.”

“Nice! Kaldur, I’m leaving my backpack in the kitchen, okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine, Kid.”

Wally nodded, leading the way back to Central.

“Welcome to Central, Artemis! Be prepared for many, many trips here!”

“We usually do Team bonding either here or in Gotham,” Robin explained.

“I see… and I’m gonna guess your name is not Kid Flash, right?”

“Nope! I’m Wally West, but you can just call me Wally. Or Walls! But I also respond to Kid or KF, too!”

Artemis nodded, following her into Jitters.

“So, if everyone gets specialized drinks, why didn’t you take down any orders?”

“I have them memorized! Also, don’t tell me what you want. I’m gonna make a guess and you can tell me how close I am.”

“What?”

Wally hurried over to the counter, greeting the baristas and ordering their drinks.

“What’s her deal?”

“She’s trying to make up for how she treated you before. And she’s usually like this anyway. Pretty much the life of the party for the Team.”

“Uh-huh…”

Robin glanced up at her, a small smirk on his face.

“And what about you? What do you think of her?”

Artemis hummed in thought.

“She’s… pretty weird. Definitely something going on there, but it’s none of my business. We’ve all got our secrets. But what’s going on between her and that Red Arrow guy?”

“They were old friends. He was her first friend, in fact. They were super close for a long time and then… right before Kaldur, KF and I invaded Cadmus and found SB, he ditched everyone because they wouldn’t give him a spot on the League. We hijacked one of his missions before, but he wasn’t too keen on talking to us. The day we met you was the first time we had seen him - the first time Wally had seen him - in a long time. And you saw how he treated her.”

“Like she didn’t even exist. And yet she hung around him like a lost puppy.”

He nodded.

“Apparently, later that night they met up on a rooftop and he gave some half-assed apology. She didn’t like that and ran off. It’s best if you just don’t talk about him around her.”

“Fair enough.”

Wally hurried back over, balancing drinks in her arms.

“Help.”

Robin laughed and took a few drinks from her, Artemis doing the same.

“Your stubbornness is admirable, but you could’ve said they were done at the counter, KF.”

“You guys were busy talking and I didn’t want to interrupt! That’s rude, y’know?”

“You weren’t interrupting much. C’mon, let’s head back and get everyone except Kaldur caffeinated.”

“Why doesn’t Kaldur get caffeinated?” Artemis asked as they left Jitters.

“He doesn’t like the taste of coffee all that much,” Wally explained. “His drink has the least amount of caffeine in it and mine has the most!”

“Ah, that explains the…”

Artemis gestured vaguely with her free hand.

“Everything.”

Wally let out a laugh at that, grinning widely.

“Maybe you’re right!”

They returned to Mount Justice, Wally loudly announcing their presence despite the computer doing it for her.

“The party has returned with caffeine and hot chocolate!!”

“Kid, there is no need to shout. Superboy can hear you just fine,” Kaldur said, smiling as he was handed a drink.

“And for Artemis, this one is yours!” Wally said, handing her a drink cup and smiling widely. “Let me know what you like and don’t like about it and I’ll adjust your order accordingly for next time!”

“Uh… thanks…”

She took a small sip, pleasantly surprised to find that it was a black coffee with caramel flavoring. The only thing it was missing was

“Sugar.”

“Huh?”

“Next time, it needs more sugar…”

Wally smiled and nodded.

“Duly noted! I’ll remember that for next time!”

“So, what shall we do while we wait for any news of a mission?” Kaldur asked.

“I stashed one of my game stations here! I bet Miss M and SB haven’t had the chance to play any video games yet!”

“What, are you trying to steal back your title?” Wally teased.

“I still can’t believe you took it from me on your first try!”

“Just try and take it! Artemis, be on my team!”

“Are we playing team games? Is this girls against boys?” Artemis asked.

Wally and M’gann gasped, grinning at the idea.

“Perfect! We’ll make it girls against boys! This’ll be so much fun! Great idea, Artemis!”

The game system was set up and - despite only having four player games - the Team was divided by gender to battle for the title of Video Game Master.

“Alright, alright, I gotta go stretch my legs or something. Wally, take over,” Artemis said after a few hours of playing, passing the control to the speedster.

“I’ll keep us in the lead!”

Artemis let out a breath, getting to her feet and stretching as she walked into the kitchen.

She spotted Wally’s backpack, still sitting where she had dropped it off earlier today.

Wondering what she always carried around with her - if Robin was a reliable source, Wally usually wore her hero costume under her clothes just in case - she curiously opened the backpack and pulled out its contents.

It was a bunch of notebooks, similar to the Team one she was introduced to after their last mission.

But these ones had names on them and were decorated specifically for that person.

There was one for everyone on the Team, including Artemis herself and one for Wally.

But the one that caught her eye the most was a bright red notebook, an arrow head taped to the cover and a name she didn’t recognize written in black ink.

_ Roy Harper _

Who the hell was Roy Harper?

Was that the real name of that Red Arrow guy?

Why was his the only one that didn’t have his alias written underneath?

Opening the notebook, she began to read.

_ I got to meet another sidekick today! His name is Roy Harper, but he goes by Speedy! We’re redhead buddies now and he lives so close that he can come visit whenever he wants! _

_ I accidentally broke one of his arrows when he was showing me how to shoot with a bow, but he let me keep the arrow head! I taped it to the front of the notebook for safe keeping! _

Below the text was a polaroid photo of a much younger looking Wally with a younger looking Roy, both of them smiling at the camera.

Artemis hummed in thought as she continued to read, thinking back to how Roy acted before he dumped his mission on them.

With the way Wally talked about this Roy character and the way she seemed to hold him in such high regard in this notebook, it was such a sharp contrast to the guy that basically ignored her entire existence.

From what she gathered from the things written, Roy introduced her to Robin and Kaldur in an effort to have her make friends and… hopefully get out of Central City?

What did that mean?

Artemis knew Wally was young during these events, but she should have been allowed to take the train over to Starling, right?

What was stopping her?

And was this Roy person just trying to pass her off to other people so he wouldn’t have to deal with… whatever he was helping her with?

She didn’t go into much detail about what he was helping her with, but Artemis supposed that was because this wasn’t Wally’s notebook.

As she read more and more of the notebook, she didn’t realize she had an audience until she heard the sound of a cup hitting the floor.

Wally stared at her in shock and betrayal, mouth opening and closing as she struggled to find something - anything - to say.

“Uh… This isn’t what it looks like…” Artemis said unconvincingly, wincing at the obvious lie.

What was she thinking? Of course it was exactly what it looked like!

“Yo, KF! You good over there?” Robin called out from the living room.

As if Robin’s voice snapped her out of her stupor, Wally finally spoke.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

The screech was enough to make Artemis wince slightly at the volume, and she could hear the others in the next room rushing over to see what was wrong.

Artemis blinked, a breeze wafting past her.

And then Wally was on the other side of the counter, frantically putting her notebooks back into her backpack.

She grabbed one side of Roy’s notebook, trying to pull it out of Artemis’s hands.

Instinct took over and Artemis didn’t let go, holding tighter and trying to pull it out of Wally’s grip.

“What is going on in here?” Kaldur asked, taking in the scene before him.

“Artemis, let go of the notebook!” Robin shouted.

“What the hell was she thinking?” Superboy muttered.

“Oh, this isn’t going to end well for anyone…” M’gann mumbled softly.

Wally pulled harder.

Artemis did the same.

Neither heard the tearing sounds until it was too late.

Notebook pages flew up everywhere, scattering polaroid photos and pieces of paper across the counter and floor.

Both Wally and Artemis fell back, though Wally recovered faster.

She said nothing as she rushed around the kitchen, gathering up every last bit of Roy’s notebook and holding them in her arms tightly.

As she paused for just a moment to stuff everything into her backpack, everyone could see the fearful look on her face and the tears threatening to fall.

And then she was gone.

Wally disappeared deep into Mount Justice, away from her friends to calm down and put everything back together.

“Robin, Superboy. Go search for Kid and ensure that she is alright. M’gann, inform Red Tornado of what has happened. I will have a talk with Artemis.”

The Team separated to do their assigned tasks, Kaldur turning his attention to Artemis.

His usually warm eyes were cold and hard.

“Would you care to explain what you have done?”

Artemis frowned, looking away guiltily.

Robin ran through the halls of Mount Justice, searching through every room and every possible hiding place Wally could get into.

He opened the door to one of the training rooms they didn’t use often, looking around at the lockers against the wall.

They were all closed and it looked as if no one had stepped foot in there in a while.

Looking closer, however, he could see the faint footsteps in the dust leading to an equipment locker in the back.

He slowly opened the locker door, blinking at the sight before him.

Wally was curled up just enough to prop the ruined notebook on her knees, tape in one hand and notebook pages in the other.

A flashlight was propped up on her backpack, giving her just enough light to do her work.

Soft sobs bubbled out of her throat, tears dripping down her cheeks and onto the torn pages.

She was fighting a losing battle and still struggling to win.

“Wally, hey…” he said softly, kneeling down beside her. “Let me help put it back together, okay? We can still save his notebook!”

She sobbed and shook her head, dropping the pages in her hand.

“C’mon, don’t give up! You, me, and Superboy! We’ll put it back together while Kaldur does damage control!”

“...She ruined it beyond repair…” Wally mumbled, her voice thick with tears. “I-I can’t get the pages back in and some of them are torn so you can’t read the words a-and some of the polaroids got ripped, too! I-I know I’m mad at him, but it’s like she slapped me in the face and told me he’s never coming back!”

“Hey, no, I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that…!”

“I don’t care if she meant it like that or not! She dug through my belongings and read something that doesn’t belong to her without my permission!”

Her voice was loud and getting higher as she struggled to control herself.

“I know, I know. That was something she definitely shouldn’t have done. And, honestly, that was probably the wrong notebook to get too curious about. You let down your boundaries around her and she took it too far. If you don’t want to be friends with her after this, I don’t think anyone would fault you for that. But she’s still your Teammate and you still have to work with her.”

“How can I trust someone who goes through my stuff to watch my back in battle?”

“It’s going to be hard, but you’re going to have to trust her on missions. And you won’t be alone with her. The rest of us will be there to keep you steady and make sure everything goes okay.”

She sniffled and leaned over, pressing her face into Robin’s shoulder as she cried.

“Kid was trying her best to trust you and make up for how she acted the last time she saw you,” Kaldur said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You will be lucky if she tries this again.”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Your intentions do not matter. While the Team notebook is available for anyone to look at, the ones she carries around are private and only with her explicit permission is anyone allowed to look at them. If you had asked, she would have gladly showed you what was in her backpack and let you look at the notebook she created for you.”

“Why is she even carrying them around? If a villain gets their hands on them, they could-”

“There is no sensitive information in those notebooks. She does not write secrets or anything anyone does not want others to know in those notebooks. And she never takes them on missions. Red Tornado ensures they are safe while we are away.”

Artemis sighed softly, rubbing the back of her neck.

“...How will I know if she starts to trust me again?”

“You will know when the time comes.”

“...Can I ask why she keeps notebooks?”

“It is a coping mechanism for her. She has many, many more hidden away in her bedroom.”

“A coping mechanism for what?”

“That is not for me to say. She will tell you when she is ready.”

“...Did she tell you when she was ready?”

“Not quite. I was there to witness it. So was Robin. But do not ask him about it. He will not speak of it unless he has Kid’s permission.”

Artemis frowned slightly, looking off to the side.

“She’s not going to speak to me for a while… is she?”

“Most likely not. It will be wise for you to give her space.”

“Hey, Kaldur,” Robin said softly from the doorway. “I’m gonna take her home and stay with her until Barry and Iris get home. Let Red know where we’ve gone off to.”

“Of course, Robin. And the notebook?”

“She said it can’t be saved, but we’re gonna try again with all the art supplies at her house.”

“Very well. I am entrusting her well-being to you.”

“Ah, Robin, wait!” Artemis said as he turned to leave. “Could you tell her-”

“I did try to reason with her, Artemis, but she’s not very open to forgiving you for ripping this specific notebook. Give her time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have too much time on my hands with this self-isolation I was told to do.  
> Happy Pre-Halloween, everyone!


	22. Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just kept going and going and going as I was writing it.

“What’s got Wally all mopey and quiet today?” Artemis asked, looking over at the redhead tucked away in the corner and writing in her notebooks. “She could at least sit in the kitchen and do that… It might be more comfortable…”

“Robin’s off on a mission with Batman in Gotham City. She might just be a little lonely that her best friend isn’t here,” M’gann said.

“I thought she was close with Kaldur and Superboy, too.”

“She is, but I’m convinced she has a crush on Robin so she gets upset when he’s not around.”

“...She has a crush on Robin? I thought she was more going for the older type. Like Kaldur and Red Arrow.”

“You think so? I think maybe her personality would clash too much with Kaldur’s! He’s a good guy, but even he struggles to reign her in!”

“What about Red Arrow? They were pretty close, right?”

“From what I heard, yeah. But both Robin and Kaldur said that she looks up to him as more of a big brother.”

Artemis hummed and nodded slightly, turning her attention back to the sparring match between Superboy and Kaldur.

“Okay, but do you think she’d look good with just Robin, though?”

M’gann giggled and shook her head.

“No way! I think she’d look cute with any of the boys! But I can’t stop thinking about her being with Robin! They’re so similar and just bounce off of each other so well!”

“How long have they known each other?”

“Mm… About four or five years now?”

“Impressive. And she’s only known you and Superboy for a little over a month, right?”

“Yeah! But she makes friends with people so easily when she just clicks with them! It’s so much fun to hear her talk about the Flash and all the things she knows about him!”

“Hmm…”

She looked back over at Wally, but the speedster was gone from her spot.

“C’mon, Kaldur! I bet Superboy that I’d give up caffeine for a week if you lost!”

Artemis quickly looked over at the voice, blinking when Wally was standing by the sparring ring and cheering loudly.

“And I’m gonna win that bet!” Superboy retorted.

“No way! Kaldur’ahm!”

“Jeez, she perked up quickly…” Artemis muttered. “All that time she was moping in the corner and now she’s acting like she hadn’t just been doing that.”

“Yeah, you get used to it,” M’gann said. “But it’s one of the things that makes her Wally! She’s also really smart! Especially with science and numbers! That’s why Kaldur puts her and Robin together when it comes to intel gathering from computers!”

“I bet…”

Kaldur let out a pained grunt as Superboy tossed him to the ground, effectively winning their sparring match.

“Aw, c’mon…!” Wally whined.

“I won fair and square. No caffeine for a week,” Superboy said with a smirk.

“Augh, fine! But mark my words, you will regret this.”

Wally pouted, turning to see Red Tornado entering the room.

“Red!! Is there any kind of mission for us? We’re bored and Batman is away!”

“I do not give out missions. I am sure you are aware of this, Kid Flash.”

“Okay, fine! How about this, then? Do you have something to keep us busy for a little while?”

“Perhaps. There may be something the Team can look into.”

Red brought up a file, the Team gathering around to take a look.

“About three weeks ago, Kent Nelson disappeared,” he began. “Nelson is the current Doctor Fate and the guardian of the Helmet of Fate, a mystical and powerful artifact that harbors the spirit of Nabu.”

Wally let out a small scoff, rolling her eyes slightly at the mere mention of the mystic arts.

“What’s your problem?” Artemis whispered.

“Magic isn’t real,” Wally replied confidently. “It’s all science and misdirection.”

“We will look into Kent Nelson’s disappearance,” Kaldur said. “Where was his last known location?”

“He was last seen in New Orleans, however the Tower of Fate is located in Salem. Its exact location is unknown. Here is the key,” Red said, handing it to Kaldur.

The Team piled into the Bio-ship, Wally pouting when Artemis took Robin’s usual spot right next to her.

“So, Wally,” she said, a small smirk on her face. “Care to share your feelings on magic with the class?”

“Science can explain everything, Artemis,” Wally said, a sigh in her voice as if she had said this too many times.

It was only twice, but she hated repeating her beliefs.

“Then how do you explain Kaldur and his tattoos? They glow!”

“Specialized ink that draws out his inherent power to control water. It helps him channel it into his water bearers for better and more precise control.”

The answer was quick, concise, and immediate.

Artemis turned to Kaldur to see if this was true.

“I told this to her myself,” he admitted. “One of the first things she told me about herself is that she did not believe in magic. But she was not wrong in assuming my tattoos could be explained with science.”

Wally smirked and stuck her tongue out at Artemis.

“Real mature. Really living up to the ‘Kid’ part of your name.”

“At least I know how to have fun.”

“Do I need to separate you two already?” Kaldur asked, exasperation in his tone.

“No, we’re good,” Wally said immediately.

Kaldur gave her a look, but didn’t bother arguing with her.

The speedster crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, ignoring Artemis in favor of growing lost in her thoughts.

She found herself wondering what Robin was up to.

All he had told her this morning was that he was going off on a mission and wouldn’t be back until at least tomorrow.

He had also told her to try and get along with Artemis, but she told him she thought their personalities clashed in the worst possible way.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, pulling it out and giving a small smile at who it was.

**[19:50] Rob:** _ how goes the Team bonding? _

**[19:50] KF:** _ Good, I guess. SB beat Kaldur in a fight so now I have to give up caffeine for a week _

**[19:50] Rob:** _ no mercy from SB _

**[19:50] KF:** _ Good ol’ Red has sent us out on a not-mission to look for Kent Nelson _

**[19:51] Rob:** _ oh fun for you _

**[19:51] KF:** _ Artemis can’t believe that I don’t believe in magic and the mystic arts _

**[19:51] Rob:** _ maybe you’ll change your mind while looking for doctor fate _

**[19:52] KF:** _ Not likely _

**[19:52] Rob:** _ oops got caught on my phone i’ll text you later _

**[19:52] KF:** _ Be careful out there _

**[19:53] Rob:** _ you too _

“Which boyfriend are you texting?” Artemis asked.

“Okay, first of all, who said you could look at my phone over my shoulder? Second of all, it’s Robin. And third of all, what the fuck do you mean ‘boyfriend’? I have a lot of boys who are friends.”

“Oh, boy… Here we go…” M’gann muttered softly, giving Wally a pitying look.

“That’s not what a boyfriend is. I thought you were 15 years old! How do you not know what a boyfriend is?!” Artemis exclaimed.

“Alright, look, it’s not my fault! I didn’t even know what a crush was until recently! And I still don’t fully understand what that is!”

“Are you fucking kidding me?! What is wrong with you?!”

Wally shut up at that, staring at Artemis with wide eyes.

Conflicting emotions flickered across her face. Anger, sadness, hurt, frustration.

She didn’t say a word as she got to her feet, her seat disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the ship near Kaldur.

“Bad question…” Superboy whispered to Artemis. “And if you ask it again, you’ll have to deal with me.”

“There is nothing wrong with you, Kid,” Kaldur said softly.

“Obviously there is if someone who barely knows me can see it…” she muttered, a slight bitterness to her words. “We can’t keep pretending there isn’t…”

“That is not what we are-”

“That is what you’re doing. You pretend there’s nothing wrong with me until I have a breakdown and then the cycle repeats itself. Uncle Barry says I’m still getting better, but…”

She sighed.

“But I don’t think I am…”

Kaldur gave her a soft look.

“We will talk about this after this mission. Keep your mind on finding Kent Nelson until we return to Mount Justice.”

“I don’t know if-”

“Can you promise me that you will try? That is all I ask of you.”

“...Okay… I’ll try.”

“Thank you.”

Wally went silent, not even looking in Artemis’s direction for the rest of the trip.

Artemis frowned.

Why was it so hard making friends?

And why did she see a reflection of herself in Wally?

Maybe appealing to her interests would help them bond a bit.

They finally landed in Salem, stepping off of the Bio-ship and seeing…

Nothing.

No towers in sight.

“...Are we in the right place?” Superboy asked.

It sounded like a stupid question, but no one had an answer for him.

Red Tornado had said the Tower of Fate was located somewhere in Salem.

But they had assumed it would be easy to spot.

Apparently not.

“Alright, I’m gonna say something incredibly stupid, but maybe it’s invisible,” Wally said, glancing briefly at Artemis as if waiting for a snide comment.

“You might be right. Maybe there’s some kind of invisibility technology hiding it.”

There was no sarcasm, no harshness in her words.

“...Seriously?”

“You did say anything could be explained by science. Thinking logically like that, there has to be some kind of trick or technology that made it disappear.”

“If that’s the case, we should be able to physically run into it without being able to see it.”

“Then let us search around the empty lots to try and find it,” Kaldur said.

“Are we going to split up to cover more ground?” Wally asked.

“We should stay together. But if you would like to run ahead and clear some of the further lots, Kid, that could save us some time.”

“I’ll yell in pain if I run into an invisible building.”

She pulled her goggles out of her pocket, pulling them on and running ahead.

Artemis could see her zig-zagging through different lots and between buildings.

“Artemis,” Kaldur said softly. “Give her time. She will come around and find some common ground between the two of you. Come. We are going to start searching over here.”

She was tempted to ask Kaldur what was wrong with Wally, but thought better of it.

She would tell her when she was ready, no matter how long that took.

Wally huffed, coming to a stop and putting her hands on her hips.

Theoretically, she should be running into a solid object  _ somewhere _ , but there was nothing there.

And she was being very thorough.

Sighing softly, she ran back over to meet up with the others.

“Did you find anything, Kid?”

“Nothing on my end. What about you?”

“No such luck.”

“Great… Any ideas?”

Kaldur hummed in thought, looking around at the empty space beside them.

“Perhaps finding the Tower of Fate is a test of faith.”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of answering her, Kaldur turned and inserted the key into the air, turning it.

An audible click was heard and the Tower revealed itself to them.

The door swung open, inviting them inside.

“Well then,” Wally muttered.

“To be fair, we hadn’t checked this plot of land yet…” Artemis said, still trying to stay on Wally’s side.

Kaldur led the way inside, the door slamming shut and vanishing as soon as everyone was in.

An image of Kent Nelson appeared, Wally immediately looking around for projectors.

“Why have you come here?”

“This is some high end tech if I can’t even see it right away…” Wally muttered under her breath.

She didn’t think the image of Kent Nelson could hear her, nor did she think her words would have any impact.

And yet, he disappeared.

And the floor opened up beneath them, plunging the Team toward a pit of lava.

Wally gave a small yelp of surprise, scrambling against the walls of the pit and trying to stop her descent toward the lava.

A hand grabbed the back of her shirt roughly, pulling her close and silently urging her to hold on.

She reached out, grasping at Kaldur’s shirt as she found decent footholds to keep herself from falling.

“Ugh… What the hell is this?!” Artemis demanded.

“Some kind of security system, most likely!” Wally replied. “It must be rigged to get rid of anything Kent Nelson thought would be a threat if anyone ever found the Tower!”

“So how do you suppose we stop it?!”

“He asked us why we were here, right? We never answered him!”

“Red Tornado sent us! He wanted us to check on Kent Nelson and make sure he’s okay!” M’gann shouted.

Instantly, the lava beneath them disappeared, the Team releasing their holds on the walls and each other.

“Because of your skepticism, you almost got us killed!” Artemis said, pointing an accusatory finger at Wally. “You just  _ had  _ to say something, didn’t you?!”

“I can’t believe in magic, alright?! It doesn’t make any sense to me and everything can be explained by science!”

“That’s ironic coming from the person that can run at the speed of sound!”

“I stole my uncle’s notebook, recreated his accident, blew up my parents’ garage, and here I am! See? Science!”

What she failed to mention was the one thing about her powers she could never properly explain away with science: the Speedforce.

But Artemis didn’t need to know there was one mystic being out there she believed was real.

Kaldur sighed softly, shaking his head a bit.

“Please, no more fighting. We all have our beliefs and sometimes we cannot change them. Let us keep moving,” he said, leaning down and opening the trap door he had spotted while the two girls were fighting.

Inside was some kind of snowy landscape, a stark contrast to the predicament they had found themselves in not moments earlier.

“How does your science explain that?” Artemis asked.

“Obviously we’re in a pocket dimension! The technology is real, y’know.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“I help out at STAR Labs in Central. So yeah, it’s real.”

Without waiting for a reply, Wally hopped into the trap door, landing in the snow and looking around.

“What do you see, Kid?”

“No threats. In fact, there’s really nothing to see but snow.”

The rest of the Team followed her in, also looking around.

Wally and Artemis spotted it at the same time, making a mad dash for Kent Nelson’s cane.

Their hands touched it at the same time.

And is if their touch energized it somehow, the cane easily lifted the two girls off the ground and flew off.

“Um… I think Kent Nelson just stole two of our Teammates…” Superboy said.

“Does Wally really find it that hard to believe in magic?” M’gann asked, turning to Kaldur.

Kaldur sighed softly.

“There is some truth in her explanations, however I believe she struggles with explaining things she does not fully understand. For example, she is still struggling to convince us that the speedforce is an entity and has been communicating with her.”

“But there’s no proof-”

“Which is why she is trying desperately to figure out a way to gain scientific evidence on something she cannot control. If you noticed when she was explaining how she received her powers to Artemis, she did not mention the speedforce at all.”

“Because she doesn’t want to admit to herself that it can’t be explained by science,” Superboy muttered. “No one believes her and she has no proof, so her belief that it’s not magic or something mystical is… fading.”

“Perhaps only time will tell. For now, we should search for a way back to our friends.”

“Terribly sorry to drag you all into this,” Kent Nelson said, smiling at Artemis and Wally.

He had pulled them into the safety of an elevator, though neither of them knew their destination.

“Uh… I-It’s no problem,” Wally said after a moment of silence. “It’s kind of our thing to get dragged into trouble.”

“Well, lucky for me, then! My name is Kent Nelson.”

“Nice to meet you,” Artemis said. “Who were those guys we escaped from?”

Kent chuckled and shook his head.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve escaped just yet. Those two were Abra Kadabra and Kalrion the Witch Boy.”

“Abra Kadabra? That’s seriously the name he went with?” Wally said, unimpressed. “And here I thought Captain Cold was the dumbest villain name I’ve ever heard.”

“Quite the sense of humor in you, young lady! Reminds me of my Inza!” Kent said with a smile. “Despite his odd choice in name, Abra Kadabra is a charlatan that uses science and technology to simulate magic.”

“See, Artemis? I told you!”

“Oh shut it!”

“Ow! You hit me!”

“And I’ll do it again! Let Mr. Nelson finish!”

Kent chuckled again.

It was as if Inza had been split into two and presented to him as new generation heroes.

Wally had such a similar sense of humor, but Artemis had Inza’s no nonsense attitude.

“Klarion, on the other hand, is a Lord of Chaos. A being of tremendous magical power. It won’t do any of us any good to underestimate him. If we want to have any hope of beating him, we will need to call upon Doctor Fate.”

“Is that where this elevator is taking us?” Wally asked.

“There will be one extra step once we get to the top, but yes.”

Just as he finished speaking, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.

“Ah, seems like this is our stop.”

“Oh, wow…” Wally mumbled as she stepped out, looking up at the giant bell before them. “Is this the extra step before we get to the Helmet of Fate?”

“Oho! Funny and perceptive! Under different circumstances, I think you and I would have gotten along quite well, Miss West.”

“Yeah? I think so, too! I’ve been told I get along with adults really well.”

“An old soul in a young body, I see. Come along, girls. We still have one more thing to do if we want Doctor Fate.”

A door opened on the ceiling above them, three figures falling out of it.

“Ah, and it seems your friends have finally arrived.”

“Yeah, and some unwelcome guests. They’re back,” Artemis said, gesturing toward Abra Kadabra and Klarion.

“Oh, dear. And here I thought our journey would be a bit easier at the end.”

“It’s never that easy, Mr. Nelson,” Wally said. “We should go and get Doctor Fate!”

“Of course, Miss West. Do look out, though.”

Artemis let out a yelp beside her, Wally looking to see Abra Kadabra shooting lightning at her Teammates.

“Artemis!”

“Miss West, follow me! The sooner we acquire the Helmet of Fate, the sooner we can save your friends!”

Wally bit her lip, glancing from Kent to her friends.

With a frustrated groan, she turned and hurried after Kent as he tapped the giant bell with his cane and walked into it.

And unfortunately Klarion was hot on their heels.

“Oh, the Helmet!” Wally said excitedly. “We found it!”

“And it will be mine!” Klarion hissed, aiming a shot at Wally.

“Miss West! Look out!”

Kent shoved her out of the way, taking the hit for her.

“Mr. Nelson!”

She caught him before he hit the ground, a golden bubble forming around them and the Helmet.

She could see Klarion beating at the outside of the bubble as he attempted to get in and get the Helmet.

“Ah… Miss West, this is the end for me…”

“No, Mr. Nelson! We… We still need your help! We still need Doctor Fate!”

“Anyone can be Doctor Fate, my dear,” Kent said, smiling as he struggled to hang on. “Even you. You just need to believe in magic, even a little bit.”

He went limp in her arms.

She shook her head, setting his body down on the ground so she could clutch at her head.

“C’mon, Walls, what do you do in this situation?” she said to herself. “Remember your first-aid training!”

She got onto her knees, starting CPR in any attempt to try and bring Kent Nelson back from the dead.

No such luck.

And Klarion was getting closer and closer to breaking through.

_ Wally, what’s going on up there?! We need Doctor Fate! We can’t win without him! _

M’gann’s voice rang through her head, begging for help.

But what could she do?

Kent Nelson was dead.

She looked back at the Helmet of Fate, a realization coming to her.

“A test of faith… This is just another test of faith…”

Steeling her nerves, she got to her feet and grabbed the Helmet.

“I won’t let you down, Mr. Nelson.”

The bubble broke.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled the Helmet of Fate on.

When she opened her eyes, she was in a dark, echoing void.

“Where am I? Did… Did I fail this test of faith, too?”

“Not at all, Miss West. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

She turned, seeing Kent standing behind her.

“Mr. Nelson? B-But… I thought…!”

“I am indeed dead, Miss West. But my spirit was brought into the Helmet along with you when you put it on.”

“So this is the inside of the Helmet of Fate? It’s kinda lonely in here…” she mumbled. “Wait, but if I’m here, then what about Klarion and my friends? Am I dead, too?”

“You are very much alive. Nabu has control over your body. He is the real Doctor Fate and takes control of whoever puts on his Helmet in order to keep Doctor Fate alive.”

Kent waved his hand and suddenly they both could see what was going on outside.

Doctor Fate was winning.

Of course he was.

He managed to beat back Klarion and even rescue her friends from Abra Kadabra.

But why wasn’t her body taking off the Helmet?

“Oh, my… I was afraid this would happen the moment you put on the Helmet… Nabu does not want to give up your body.”

“But I can’t be Doctor Fate… I’m… I’m not the right person for that…”

“I am well aware. Nabu, you need to let the girl go.”

_ I will not. I refuse to be trapped in this Helmet for the rest of my existence. _

“Now, now. I’m sure Miss West would make sure you got into the hands of the right person and be put to good use. I’ll even remain here with you until that happens.”

“Mr. Nelson, what about Inza? Don’t you want to see her again?” Wally asked.

“Of course, I do. But what’s a few more millenia compared to eternity in the afterlife with my dear Inza.”

_ Very well. I will let the child go. _

Kent smiled and nodded, turning to Wally.

“You have good friends surrounding you, Miss West. Especially that Artemis girl. You may not see it now, but you both will have a-”

He was cut off as the void disappeared and she was met with the sight of her friends instead, the Helmet of Fate in her hands.

“Woah… That was a wild ride…”

“Kid, are you alright?” Kaldur asked.

“I’m fine, but Mr. Nelson…” She sighed. “He sacrificed himself to save me. And I promised him we’d take the Helmet with us. I said I’d find the perfect person to keep Nabu company so Mr. Nelson can see Inza again.”

“Then let us head back and report to Red Tornado.”

“Hey, Artemis?” Wally said softly as they walked back to the Bio-ship.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for sticking up for me… even if I was being super stubborn about my beliefs.”

Artemis blinked then smirked at her.

“Well, someone has to keep your weirdness in check.”

Wally let out a small laugh, taking a seat next to her and keeping a gentle grip on Helmet of Fate.

Back at Mount Justice, she carefully placed the Helmet onto her shelf of souvenirs, smiling at it.

“Don’t worry, Nabu. I bet we’ll find someone to be Doctor Fate for you soon enough.”

“Y’know, for someone who doesn’t believe in magic, you sure do like talking to the Helmet,” Artemis said from the doorway. “You’ve been doing it since we left the Tower.

“Yeah, well, I still don’t believe in that kind of stuff. But I also don’t want Nabu to think we’re ignoring him! He was a real person at one point. It’s not his fault he’s stuck in there!”

Artemis chuckled and smiled slightly.

“You’re such a geek.”

“That’s a new one. Wanna go do notebook time with the others?”

“What? Not gonna call your boyfriend and see how his mission is going?” she teased.

“You still haven’t explained to me what a boyfriend is. How about we talk about it over the notebook report?”

“Sure, weirdo. Let’s go.”


	23. Downtime

Today was not turning out to be a good day.

Their mission wasn’t that difficult and yet they managed to mess it up.

They were assigned to find Clayface in the sewers of Gotham City and contain him.

Well, they found him.

And got their asses handed to them.

They would have been in even more trouble if Batman hadn’t shown up when he did.

“Hit the showers, all of you,” Batman said.

The Team obeyed without question.

Wally wiped some mud off of her goggles, grimacing slightly.

“Aqualad, a word.”

Robin cringed at that, patting Kaldur’s arm reassuringly as he turned to walk back toward Batman.

“Oof, Kaldur’s in big trouble… But did he seem off to you guys today?” Wally asked, grabbing her backpack from one of the lockers and digging through it for a change of clothes.

“Yeah… He seemed distracted. And he didn’t really have a solid plan for us to follow,” Robin said.

“Mm… That explains why he didn’t really have an answer when I asked him what we were going to do about Clayface’s shapeshifting abilities…”

“Mhm…”

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?”

“Kaldur’s a tough guy. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Artemis interjected. “C’mon, weirdo. Let’s get that mud out of your hair before it dries.”

“I should be saying that to you! Your hair is so much longer than mine!”

Artemis rolled her eyes, grabbing her by the back of her costume and dragging her toward the female showers.

“Wow… What the hell did I miss on that last mission?” Robin asked.

“They’re bonding. I think,” Superboy said.

“I heard they argued pretty much the entire mission…”

“It was mostly about Wally not believing in magic.”

“Makes sense. She’s stubborn when it comes to that kind of stuff. But I still find it weird that she talks with some kind of otherworldly being she calls the Speedforce and literally became Doctor Fate for a bit and she just… insists there’s a scientific way to explain it.”

“Nothing we can do to change her mind.”

After everyone had showered and changed into civilian clothes, they made their way toward the living room.

“So? How much trouble are you in, Kaldur?” Wally asked.

She and Robin had trapped him between them just so they could interrogate him.

“I am not in any kind of trouble.”

“Really? Cause Batman seemed pretty mad about our failure,” Robin said.

“I am not in trouble, but I will be taking a minor leave of absence to go home for a bit.”

“I’m in charge, right?” Wally and Robin said at the same time.

Kaldur chuckled softly.

“Technically, Red Tornado is in charge.”

“Aw…”

“Boo!”

“But I am putting you both in charge of the Team until I return. Please ensure that everything goes smoothly.”

Robin pumped his fist in the air excitedly.

“Yes! I get to be in charge of something!” Wally shouted in excitement.

“Keep it down, weirdo!” Artemis called from up ahead.

“No way! Rob and I are in charge!”

She could see Artemis shake her head slightly.

Robin and Wally saw Kaldur off, wishing him good luck as he traveled home.

“So, what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” Wally asked. “I mean, I have to run back home later this evening for Mr. Garrick’s birthday party.”

“Ooh, lucky you.”

“What about you? Any plans after we get bored of each other’s presence?”

“Not really. Batman and I usually train for a bit and then go do our own thing until he makes me go to bed.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to bail as soon as either Uncle Barry or Aunt Iris text me.”

“Team bonding, then?”

“Team bonding it is!”

They found their Teammates lounging around in the living room, Wally hurrying over and squeezing her way in between Superboy and Artemis.

“C’mon, Wally…!” Artemis complained. “There’s not enough room!”

“Too bad! This is my spot!”

“Oh great…”

“Since Kaldur left KF and I in charge,” Robin said, standing near the TV so everyone could see him. “We’re gonna do some Team bonding.”

“Team bonding? Like what?” M’gann asked.

“What we usually do, I guess. Hang out and get to know each other.”

“Oh! Let me grab my backpack! I left it in the locker!”

Wally shot up, running deeper into Mount Justice and returning seconds later with her backpack in hand.

“Scoot over! I’ve got notebooks to work on!”

“Okay, jeez!”

Artemis moved over slightly, Wally gladly taking her seat again and pulling out all of her notebooks and art supplies.

“Is there a pocket dimension in your backpack or something?” Artemis teased lightly. “That’s a lot of stuff for one bag.”

“Maybe, maybe not. The world may never know,” she teased back, sticking her tongue out at Artemis. “Here! I appreciate notes!”

A green notebook was thrust into Artemis’s face, the archer barely having time to grab it before Wally let go and piled art supplies onto her lap.

She took a look at what she was just handed, eyes widening slightly at her name written on the cover.

“There’s not a lot in there, so I’d appreciate whatever you want to add to it. And I’m trusting you not to touch the other ones without permission this time, okay?”

“R-Right… Okay…”

“Actually, while you’re all here, update your own notebooks.”

She passed out notebooks, though Artemis noticed that Superboy and Robin got extra notebooks.

“SB likes reading about Superman and I just have Rob add things to the Batman notebooks,” Wally explained, pulling out a red notebook with the Flash’s symbol on it. “I almost got accused of sneaking into the Batcave. Not that I know where that is.”

“Liar! You totally know where it is!” Robin exclaimed.

“Oh yeah? And what makes you say that?”

“You know so many things about Batman, I wouldn’t be surprised if you knew the location of the Batcave. It’s probably in one of your old notebooks.”

“Because of who Batman is, I would never put secret identities or secret locations like that where anyone could read it.”

“Fuck, you’re right… Secret identities never go in the notebooks…”

“How many notebooks could you possibly have?” Artemis asked.

“I don’t know the actual count now, but when I first saw them, there was enough to fill up the entire space under her bed. That’s why I bought her a laptop that she doesn’t use to store all of her information on them.”

“I guess that makes sense. If they steal one notebook, it’s not really the end of the world, but stealing an entire laptop full of intel on the Justice League and us… That’s bad news.”

“I only keep one copy of each notebook, though, so if one went missing, I’d be able to tell. And I’d be very upset. I work hard on all of these.”

Artemis hummed at that, looking from her notebook to the other ones.

Something was different about hers…

“...Hey, how come my notebook doesn’t have a design on the cover?”

“Look, it was either leave it blank or you got a cover designed by an angry Wally,” Wally said. “I thought you’d prefer the blank one. But if you want to put something on it, I won’t stop you.”

She hadn’t looked up from quickly writing in the Flash notebook, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Artemis glanced down at the open pages, seeing complex equations and diagrams along with words she didn’t quite understand and long winded paragraphs so information heavy, she wasn’t sure anyone could look through even a few pages without getting confused.

Shrugging, she grabbed a black marker and drew the outline of her symbol on the cover.

Perfect.

Simple and easily recognizable.

She opened it, skimming over the basic information.

And then she spotted a recently added note.

_ Artemis and I don’t really get along still, but she stood up for me when I insisted magic could be explained by science. And Mr. Nelson said something about both of us being friends, but I didn’t get to hear what else he said since Nabu had me take off the Helmet of Fate. _

_ I do want to be friends with her, but her dynamic with the Team is so different from everyone else that I’m still trying to figure out how we click and any common ground we have. _

_ Note: Maybe having her look at some of my notebooks (under supervision, of course) will help us understand each other a little better. Aunt Iris made me realize that Artemis doesn’t really know anything about me and has only seen a really ugly side of me. _

Artemis smirked, grabbing a green pen and starting to write.

**_Maybe you’re right, weirdo. I don’t know much about you and no one seems to be talking about you since they already know you._ **

**_But I’m sorry for looking at your stuff without permission. That was admittedly a bad move when you were trying to be so nice to me that day. And I’m sorry for saying something was wrong with you._ **

**_That was out of line. We’re Teammates and we need to work together. There can’t be any animosity between us or we’ll ruin the entire dynamic of the Team all together._ **

**_So let’s start over and get to know each other. Not all at once. I don’t think anyone could take too much weirdness from you at that level except for maybe Robin._ **

**_And… I’d like to read that notebook you wrote about yourself sometime. Maybe it’ll help me unravel the mystery that is Kid Flash._ **

“Hey, Superboy, I know you’re frustrated with Superman, but could you keep the mean comments and notes to a minimum for me, please?” Wally asked, Artemis looking up to see her keeping Superboy from writing with both of her hands. “I get it, I really do. He’s acting like a jerk.”

“So where should I write down my mean comments, then?”

“Hmm… How about I make you your own notebook where you can write down everything that frustrates you! It’s very cathartic!”

“But I still get to make comments in the actual notebook?”

“Yep! This other one is just for mean comments and things that make you mad!”

She grabbed a blank blue notebook, handing it to Superboy.

“This one is just for you. Decorate it however you like!”

“Thanks…”

She smiled and nodded, turning back to the notebook in her hands.

“What’s with all the equations and everything?” Artemis asked, gesturing at the page she had open.

“They help me try and figure out how quickly the Flash gains speed and what he could possibly do at certain speeds. He can phase through walls, but I can’t which means I haven’t reached that speed yet. Though, what speed that is… I still don’t quite know.”

“So, how big is the difference in how fast you run?”

“Here, look.”

Wally flipped to an earlier entry, pointing out a diagram.

“See, this side is the Flash,” she said, tapping her finger on the side with the largest numbers and more complex equations. “As you can see, his numbers are much higher than mine. Originally, we thought it was because he had just been a speedster longer than me.”

“But these numbers say otherwise…”

Wally nodded.

“We both have been getting faster over time. However, I have literally been gaining speed slowly. Very slowly.”

“How slow are we talking about?”

“Slow enough that I wouldn’t even know without the testing days we do at STAR Labs.”

“So you’re slow by speedster standards?”

“It sounds mean when you put it that way, but essentially, yeah.”

Artemis nodded, looking over the extreme difference in speed between Wally and the Flash.

One word caught her eye.

_ Speedforce _

“What’s the speedforce?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. Every speedster’s power derives from the speedforce. No one knows for sure what it is or how it chooses who gets to be blessed with super speed.”

There was a slight hesitation in her words.

“...But do you have any idea on how it works?”

Wally hesitated a moment too long.

“Nothing concrete.”

Artemis glanced at her.

She  _ did  _ have an idea, but clearly no one would listen to it. And she couldn’t prove it either.

“Okay. Keep me updated.”

“...Yeah, okay…”

A phone went off, everyone immediately checking their pockets.

“Oh, it’s me!” Wally said. “Looks like that’s my cue to leave! Uh… Keep the notebooks until the next time I see you guys. Artemis, make sure you take good care of it! Oh! And here! Keep this one with you, too! But don’t write in it!”

A yellow notebook was thrust into Artemis’s hands as Wally packed up the rest of her things and pulled her backpack on.

“Okay, see you guys later!”

She ran out of the living room, the computer sounding off her designation moments later.

“Jeez… Didn’t even give anyone a chance to say goodbye…” Artemis grumbled.

Robin laughed at that.

“Get used to it. You’ll be lucky if you manage to say goodbye to her. I usually just text her after she leaves. Oh, and you better take good care of that second notebook she gave you. It’s very important to her.”

Artemis frowned in confusion, finally looking at the bright yellow notebook that had been handed to her.

_ Wally West: A Summary _

“Oh… Does this mean…?”

“She’s learning to trust you,” Robin confirmed. “But keep in mind that the things you’ll read in that notebook will explain a lot about her… everything. And you may not like the reasons.”

“Only one way to find out.”

“I’m back!!” Wally loudly announced as she burst through the front door.

“Welcome back, kiddo,” Barry greeted. “Did you have fun today?”

“We failed our mission and Batman had to come save us… We thought Kaldur was gonna be in big trouble, but turns out he’s just taking a trip home to clear his head.”

“Is he okay? Is he sick or something?”

Wally shook her head and smiled widely.

“No, I think there’s something back home that he’s been missing for a while now. He seemed distracted during the mission, so maybe he was thinking about whatever it is.”

“I see… Well, go clean up and get ready to help set up for Jay’s party. You’ve got pen or something on your cheek.”

“Ah! Superboy!” she shouted as she ran upstairs and into the bathroom to try and scrub it off.

Barry smiled and shook his head fondly.

“What a personality that kid has…”

“She got it from you, I bet,” Iris said, a small smile on her lips. “She’s always been mimicking you ever since she was little.”

“It really did surprise me when she latched onto me like that. Always ‘Uncle Barry’ this and ‘Uncle Barry’ that.”

“Every year for Take Your Child to Work Day, she would always beg me to bring her by the police station to see you! Either that or STAR Labs!”

Barry chuckled softly.

“I think she’s been picking up bits of her friends’ personalities, too. Her sense of humor is a mix of Roy and Robin.”

“The pen won’t come off!!” Wally screeched from upstairs.

Iris sighed and smiled more.

“I guess that’s my cue. If you want, we can meet you there. Knowing Wally, she’ll probably want to change again so she looks nice.”

“I’ll run over and start setting up.”

“Make sure you leave things for Wally to do. You know how she’s gotten with parties and holidays lately.”

“At least she wants to be involved! I’ll be sure to leave her some good stuff to do.”

“Aunt Iris? How do you wash pen off of your face??” Wally called.

“I’ll be right there, honey!”

Barry chuckled again.

“I’ll see you two in a bit.”

He kissed her cheek affectionately before running out of the house.

Iris smiled and walked up to the bathroom, finding Wally frantically scrubbing at her cheek.

“Let me see.”

Iris gently cupped her chin, wiping at the mark with her thumb.

“Hmm… Looks like Superboy got you with one of your quick drying pens. Are you using soap and water or just water?”

“Just water… I thought it would just come off!”

Iris smiled and grabbed a washcloth, wetting it and squirting some soap onto it.

“It’ll come off quicker with soap, you know. That’s why it comes off your fingers so easily.”

She gently wiped at the pen mark, smiling when it disappeared.

“There we go. Do you want to get changed before we head over?”

“Mmn… Yeah. And I also wanna swap out the notebooks in my backpack.”

“Then you better get moving. Your Uncle Barry already went over.”

“He’s gonna decorate everything without me again!”

She ran out of the bathroom, the door to her bedroom slamming as she disappeared inside.

“...So that’s what she meant when she said Kaldur was pretending like nothing was wrong with her…” Artemis muttered softly as she read through Wally’s notebook.

“We’re not trying to pretend like nothing’s wrong,” Robin said. “In fact, she’s the one who avoids talking about things until she either shuts down or explodes.”

“She wants normalcy but she’s highly aware of her problems…”

“Are you ready to go? Barry might not have left you anything to do!” Iris teased lightly.

“I’m ready! Let’s go already!”

Iris chuckled softly, kissing the top of her head and leading her out of the house.

“What else did she say to Kaldur?” Robin asked.

“That her uncle and aunt kept telling her she was getting better, but… but she didn’t think she was,” Artemis said softly.

“She’s making it difficult for herself since she thinks she’ll be ostracized at school and in her community if they knew she was medicated.”

“So what kind of help is she getting?”

“Nothing professional. Right now, she has a still fragile support system.”

“Fragile?”

Robin let out a breath.

“Roy was her main pillar of support for years and then he up and left. And to top it all off, the Flash lied to her about the Watchtower. So she shut herself off from everyone and refused to talk about what was bothering her.”

“And then she blew up,” Superboy added. “And we all witnessed her break down.”

“Uncle Barry!!” Wally shouted as she burst through the Garrick’s front door. “You better have left something for me to do!”

“Wally, honey, what happened to knocking first?”

Jay let out a loud laugh at her entrance.

“As energetic as ever, I see! There’s still plenty for you to do, don’t worry.”

“So she just lives her life pretending nothing is happening in her head until something triggers her?” Artemis asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“The day we had our first unofficial mission,” M’gann said. “I messed up pretty bad because I didn’t realize that everyone doesn’t communicate telepathically here like they do on Mars. And I accidentally projected one of Wally’s memories for everyone to see… It was a pretty personal one, too.”

“We got to see - from her perspective - her first time meeting Roy Harper. Because she still somewhat blames herself for him leaving,” Robin explained. “She also blames the League. Much more than she blames herself.”

“Because they wouldn’t let him in, right?”

Robin nodded, sitting up straight and shutting his notebook gently.

“Her mentality is that he wouldn’t have abandoned her like that if he had just been given a League membership. And maybe she’s right, but maybe she’s not. Who knows if he would have even joined us on our mission into Cadmus that day.”

“And her parents? Where are they?”

“Still in Central,” Superboy growled. “I had the misfortune of meeting them when they were bothering Wally.”

“What? When?” Robin asked, looking over at him.

“She didn’t tell you? After she ran out of STAR Labs that day, she went to Jitters and when I followed her, I saw her parents sitting with her.”

“What the hell did they want with her? I thought they weren’t allowed near her.”

“She said they were trying to convince her to come live with them again. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t stepped in when I did.”

“So we can add gaslighting to the list of shit they put Wally through…” Robin grumbled. “Fuck, they better hope I never see them again or I’ll…!”

“If you didn’t know, I doubt her aunt and uncle know,” Artemis said. “So she’s hiding it for some reason.”

“But why?” Robin mused. “She usually tells Barry almost everything… and if not Barry, then one of us…”

“They may have threatened her into keeping something quiet. Probably something they said to her.”

“If they said anything terrible, she didn’t repeat it to me,” Superboy said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Hm… And I doubt she’d willingly tell any of us if we pressured her to talk…” Robin mumbled. “She’s never reacted well to that…”

“Maybe she’ll talk to someone who doesn’t know her very well,” M’gann offered. “Someone who knows her, but not on a personal level, you know? So there’s no previous judgements or preconceived notions.”

All eyes turned to Artemis.

“What? Me? No no no!” she protested. “I’m no good with talking to people like that! And we’re still in the getting to know each other phase of our friendship! I feel like this is taking it a step too far! She  _ just  _ started being nice to me and I’m not gonna ruin that right off the bat again!”

Artemis looked panicked as she spoke, waving her hands around and talking quickly.

A far cry from her usual demeanor.

“You might be our best bet in getting Wally to open up more,” Robin said. “I’ve known her for years and she hasn’t spoken about her problems openly and without prompting to anyone except Roy. And we all know how that went.”

“B-But…! But, I…!”

M’gann floated over to her, taking both of Artemis’s hands in her own.

“Please, Artemis? You’re our only hope!”

Artemis stuttered a bit, a light blush on her cheeks.

Finally, with a resigned sigh, she nodded.

“Alright… I’ll see if I can get her away from her party to talk to her…”

“Do you have her number? If not, I can give it to you,” Robin said.

Artemis shook her head, taking out her phone and opening a new contact, handing it to Robin.

“Okay… And, if you don’t mind, I’ll add everyone else, too. We’ve got a group chat, but KF and I are the only super active members.”

He handed her phone back, smiling slightly.

“Normally I’d say go easy on her, but… you really shouldn’t. I think we’ve all been too soft on her because of what happened.”

“So she just needs some tough love… Got it.”

**[12:13] Artemis:** _ Hey, it’s Artemis. If you can pull yourself away from the festivities long enough, meet me in Gotham City. _

**[12:15] Wally:** _ Sure! I can run over now! Where in Gotham did you want to meet? _

**[12:15] Artemis:** _ The park. I’ll be waiting by the big fountain in the center. _

**[12:15] Wally:** _ Got it! I’ll be right over as soon as I finish helping Uncle Barry! _

**[12:16] Artemis:** _ Don’t keep me waiting _

“I gotta go. Gotta meet the weirdo and give her some tough love from all of us.”

“After all the emotional stuff, punch her on the shoulder for me,” Robin said. “And remind her that we had an agreement to talk about her problems.”

“Will do. See you guys later.”

“C’mon, kiddo! Didn’t you want to help?” Barry asked, smiling and holding up a box of streamers.

“I am helping! But after this I gotta meet up with Artemis for a little bit.”

“Oh? Artemis, huh? What does she want?”

“I dunno! She didn’t say in her texts…”

Barry chuckled and set the box down.

“Well, you can leave after you put up the streamers. And if she’s not doing anything for a few hours, you can bring her back with you for the party.”

“Is that okay with Mr. Garrick?”

“Hey, Jay!” Barry called out. “Wally can bring a friend, right?”

“Of course she can! She’s always welcome to bring her friends!”

Barry smiled and turned back to Wally.

“There you have it. Now, show me how fast you can put these up.”

She grinned, grabbing the box and running all through the living room and kitchen, stopping back at his side with an empty box.

“How’s that?”

“Good job, kid. Go on and meet up with Artemis.”

“I’ll be back later! Hopefully this won’t take too long…”

She smiled widely, running out the door and heading toward Gotham.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Artemis!” she called out, stopping in front of her and grinning. “Decorating took a little longer than I thought!”

“For someone so fast, you sure do like being late, huh?” Artemis teased lightly, gesturing for her to follow. “C’mon. We can walk and talk.”

“What are we gonna talk about? If it’s about letting you look at my notebooks, you don’t have to mention it. It’s a sign we’re getting to know each other.”

“No. Well, it is but isn’t about the notebooks.”

“So what’s up?”

“You are making everything much worse for yourself than it needs to be.”

Wally stopped for a moment, a flash of fear dancing across her face before she put on a smile and hurried to catch up again.

“What do you mean? Do you not want to be friends or something?”

“This isn’t about friendship. This is about the unhealthy way you’re dealing with your past trauma. Don’t stop, keep walking.”

Wally hesitated for just a moment, but kept following Artemis anyway.

“You told Kaldur that everyone else was just pretending that there’s nothing wrong with you, but have you ever thought that maybe they’re acting the way you want them to act? You put on a smile everyday and ignore anything going on in your head, so everyone else just assumes you’re okay and smiles with you. And then you break down and worry everyone around you.

“That’s not healthy and you know it. Robin said you two had an agreement to talk about things and yet you’re here breaking it every single day. Why are you so against getting help? Don’t you understand that everyone around you wants to help you in their own way?”

“Th-That’s-”

“Why are you so against having medication to help you out? Is it because you think your classmates or neighbors will think you’re weird? Newsflash, you’re already a weirdo and you know what? That’s fucking fine because everyone loves you just the way you are! Who cares what anyone else thinks? You should only care about what your loved ones think about you.

“And another thing. The way you cling to Roy Harper is so unhealthy that I’m surprised no one else has called you out on it. You saw the way he treated you the day we met. Everyone saw and yet you continued to hold onto the belief that he would somehow change his mind and come running back to you. You need to let him go. He may have cared about you before, but clearly he doesn’t now. You have plenty of other people to hold you up and help you.”

A sob behind her stopped Artemis in her tracks.

She turned around.

Wally had stopped a bit away from her, tears streaming down her cheeks as she struggled to keep herself from sobbing too loudly.

“I’m not going to apologize.”

Another sob.

Artemis closed the distance between them, hugging her close and resting her chin on the top of her head.

“I’m not going to apologize,” she said again. “I’m not taking anything I just said back because you needed to hear it. I’m not trying to be mean, but no one else had the courage to say any of that to your face. Okay? We’re still on our way to being friends. Just know that if there’s something you’re too scared to tell someone closer to you, you can always tell me.”

She tightened her grip on her.

“And also know that I will continue to not baby you. Every single time you come to me, you will get tough love.”

This earned her a small laugh from Wally.

The speedster sniffled, pulling away to wipe at her tears.

“You may be tough, but you’re not that tough. Start leaning on your friends and family. C’mon, there’s a coffee shop nearby. It’s not Jitters, but it’s the best Gotham has.”

Artemis held out her hand.

Wally smiled slightly and gladly took it.

“I’ll go with you to get coffee if you come with me back to Mr. Garrick’s birthday party!”

“Yeah? I might take you up on that offer. C’mon, it’s this way.”


	24. Bereft

With a small groan, Wally opened her eyes.

She was in some kind of dark room with no windows and terrible lighting.

She sat up, noting that she must be in some kind of shed or shack.

Only one room and she was here alone.

Or so she thought.

An arrow came flying out of the darkness, embedding itself in the floor by her feet.

“Roy? Is that you?” she called out.

The arrow didn’t look like one of Roy’s though.

And he would never try to scare her like this in a strange situation.

She could hear another arrow being drawn.

“Roy, this isn’t funny. That better be a trick arrow.”

An archer did step into view, but it definitely wasn’t Roy.

This archer was female with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail and wearing a green costume.

“...You’re not Roy. Who are you?”

“Who are  _ you _ ?”

Wally got to her feet slowly, raising her hands to show she wasn’t a threat to this archer.

“I’m Kid Flash.”

The girl scoffed.

“Kid Flash doesn’t wear black last time I checked.”

Wally looked down at her costume, noting that her signature yellow was replaced with black.

“...Yeah, I’m confused about that, too. You’re wearing green, though. Are you Green Arrow’s new protege or something? He already has Speedy…”

The girl looked down at her own costume, looking surprised at what she was wearing.

“I know you shot an arrow at me already, but you missed. Can you even handle your bow?”

She scoffed again and leaned against the wall.

“This must be another test by my father. He probably wants me to kill you.”

“Why me?! Who even is your father?!”

There was a beat of silence, Wally tilting her head slightly.

“Wait… Do you hear that?”

The girl tilted her head as well, listening carefully.

“...Shit. Missile incoming. We need to get out of here!”

Wally grabbed her arm, running out of the door with her moments before the missile hit the building they were in.

As soon as they were out of the exploded building, gunfire rang out around them.

Wally managed to get a good look at one of the people shooting at them.

“Bialyan soldiers?! What the hell am I doing in Bialya?! Missions in other countries are not usually my thing!”

“Shut it and help me fight them off!” the archer shouted.

“You’ve got the long range weapon! I’m not bulletproof, y’know! You must have explosive arrows in that quiver somewhere!”

“Ugh! I have to do everything, don’t I?!”

She took an arrow out of her quiver, quickly firing it and blowing up one of the humvees.

“Was that so hard?!”

“This may surprise you, but I’m just really fast! I’m not super strong or anything! I just go fast!”

The archer rolled her eyes and shot a few more arrows at the tanks closing in on them.

“Alright, this is a losing battle. We’re leaving!”

Wally picked the archer up bridal style, running in the opposite direction of the soldiers.

“Alright, so let’s try this again,” Wally said. “Hi, I’m Kid Flash. And what’s your name and/or alias?”

“...Artemis. Just Artemis.”

“Artemis it is, then!” Wally said with a grin. “So, Artemis, any chance you remember how you got here? ‘Cause I sure don’t!”

“No, I don’t. I just remember waking up in that dirty shed or whatever and seeing you there.”

“Unfortunate. But if I’m here, then Robin and Aqualad should be here, too!”

“Why would they be here with you?”

“We’re good friends, so our mentors usually pair us up together for missions.”

There was a small pause.

“Oh, Aqualad’s probably in trouble… I hope he’s staying hydrated or he’s not gonna last too long out here…”

“I’m gonna guess he’s an Atlantean?”

“Bingo. Atlanteans and the desert don’t really mix well. And looks like we were separated, so who knows if Robin and Aqualad are together.”

After a bit of running, Wally slowed to a stop. She set Artemis down, checking her snack pockets for anything to help her refuel.

“Hm… I don’t have any snacks left to recharge… Must’ve been out here for at least 24 hours if I’m empty… But what was I doing here and why can’t I remember ever getting a mission here to begin with?”

“You’re asking the wrong person, weirdo. If you’re out of fuel, I guess we better start walking and see if we can find any of your friends. Preferably before the Atlantean dies or something.”

“Yeah, guess you’re-”

Wally was cut off as something slammed into the sand in front of them.

A growl caught her attention, eyes widening when she saw a boy around her age.

She thought maybe he looked a little familiar. Like someone she knew, but… younger.

And more feral.

“Is that…?”

“Superman?” Artemis finished.

This seemed to set the not-Superman off.

He growled again and grabbed Wally, throwing her into a rock.

“Hey! Keep your hands off of her!”

Artemis fired arrow after arrow at him, but nothing seemed to be working.

As he closed in on her, a missile hit him full force, sending him flying off to the side.

“Shit! The soldiers caught up to us!” Wally shouted, appearing at Artemis’s side.

“We should go while that crazy guy is distracted.”

“On it. I’ll get us as far as I can.”

Wally picked Artemis up again, running off once more.

With her energy running low, Wally could tell she was starting to wear down, but she couldn’t stop.

Not while they were being pursued.

Her foot caught on a small rock sticking out of the sand, sending the two girls tumbling down a slope.

“Look out!” she heard Artemis shout, a shadow passing over her.

Artemis drew her bow, aiming an arrow at the drones above them.

_ I’ll take care of it! _

Wally groaned and clutched at her head, shaking it a bit.

Artemis shook her head, firing and missing.

“What the hell was that?!” Wally demanded. “Who’s talking in my head?! That’s not my voice!”

Another shadow flew over them, though this one attacked the drones and destroyed them.

“It’s a good thing I found you guys when I did!”

Wally looked up to see a martian girl.

But she only knew of one martian on Earth.

“Is that Martian Manhunter?” she asked.

“Doesn’t look like him,” Artemis replied.

“Maybe it’s a new form he’s decided to take.”

The martian giggled and smiled at them.

“You’re close, but not quite right. I’m his niece! My name is M’gann M’orzz, but you both know me as Miss Martian! Wally and Robin call me Miss M, though.”

Artemis looked over at Wally, a small smirk on her lips.

“Your name is Wally?”

“What of it?” A beat, and then “Wait, how do you know my name? That’s not public knowledge, even if I’m not as secretive about it as Robin and Batman.”

“We’re all friends and we’re on a Team together!”

“I don’t do teams…” Artemis muttered.

“The only team I’m on is the unofficial sidekick squad with me, Rob, Aqualad and Speedy. And we’re unofficial.”

M’gann sighed, floating down to the ground.

“Well, let’s at least look for the rest of the Team together. Robin and Superboy are still out there. Did this Aqualad and Speedy come with you, Wally?”

“I don’t think so. Speedy’s the oldest and this doesn’t seem like his type of deal. Aqualad might be here, but I dunno what they were thinking if they sent an Atlantean to the desert. Also, who’s Superboy?”

“Oh, well…”

“Whatever. We don’t have time for this,” Artemis said. “Let’s just find these other heroes and get out of Bialya. Miss Martian, is there any way you can locate Robin?”

“I can’t find him telepathically, but maybe Kid Flash has a way to track her friends!”

Wally hummed in thought, tapping her wrist and bringing up her own wrist computer.

“Not seeing a Track Robin option here, but there’s a GPS signal coming from that direction,” she said, pointing to her left. “It’s not that far from here. Knowing him, we’ll be able to meet him there.”

“We should get moving if we want to meet him, then,” Artemis said. “The sun’s going to set soon. We’ll move on foot, but keep your energy up as much as you can, Kid Flash. We might need it if we run into trouble.”

“Let’s get moving. The sooner we meet up with Robin, the sooner we can attempt to locate this Superboy and figure out if Aqualad is here.”

The trio set off, Wally in the lead as she kept an eye on her GPS tracker.

As they approached the location, they could see muzzle flashes and disk-like objects flying through the air.

Wally let out a laugh.

“He’s having too much fun without me!”

She ran ahead of the other girls, grinning widely as she fought off the soldiers around Robin.

“Hey, Rob! Miss me?”

“Yo, KF! Good to see a friendly face around here!” Robin said, matching her grin and standing back to back with her. “Seen Aqualad anywhere?”

“I was gonna ask you the same thing. Speedy’s not here, but I found a different archer!”

“Oh yeah? Making friends in the desert now?”

“Maybe, maybe not! I see you haven’t made any!”

“Quit flirting and let’s get rid of these guys!” Artemis shouted as she and M’gann finally caught up.

“Friends of yours?” Robin asked as he handed her a batarang to throw.

“I’ll introduce you afterwards! Let’s show these bozos what we’re made of!”

Between the four of them, they successfully subdued the soldiers, stopping to catch their breaths.

“So, KF, who’re your new friends?”

“That’s Artemis,” she said, pointing at the archer. “And that’s Miss Martian!”

“I’m Robin. Hey, do you know Green Arrow by any chance, Artemis?”

“You’re not the first to ask me that… I’ll have to say no,” Artemis said.

“So, you’re smart, Rob,” Wally said. “Happen to know what we’re doing in Bialya?”

“Nope. All I remember is Batman said to maintain radio silence. But I have no idea what we’re doing here or why it’s September.”

“September?! It was March yesterday!”

“I know. We’re not just missing whatever this mission is, we’re missing at least six months worth of our lives.”

Robin glanced up at her, finally taking in her appearance.

“...I can tell time has passed. You’re taller.”

“Am I? I didn’t notice.”

“Anyway, let’s compare notes on what we know.”

“I woke up in some kind of shack with Artemis. She shot an arrow at me, but we worked together to escape a missile and Bialyan soldiers.”

“As we were running away, we ran into this weird feral Superman lookalike. So we ran again. Then we met Miss Martian.”

“I tried to tell them that we’re all on a Team! I don’t know how else to put it, but if any of you believe me, I can prove it to you!” M’gann said.

“That might explain what we’re all doing here, why it’s the date it is, and why Batman ordered radio silence,” Robin said.

“So we must be working as a Team under Batman. Maybe even the League!” Wally said excitedly, accidentally hitting her stealth tech switch on her costume and changing it back to normal. “Oh! That’s new. But I’m back to normal!”

Everyone else prodded at their costume logos, but didn’t seem to gain the same result that Wally did.

“Must not be universal. Though, why Flash wants you to have stealth gear is beyond me, KF,” Robin said with a smirk. “So, since it seems like we lost our memories, what should we do? How can we get them back?”

“If you all let me, I can bring you into my mindscape and help restore our memories.”

“Whatever helps us figure out what we’re doing here,” Robin said. “Lay it on us, Miss M.”

M’gann let out a breath, her eyes starting to glow.

They blinked and found themselves inside M’gann’s mind, memories floating around them, though Wally couldn’t concentrate on them.

“You will need to open your minds so that I can piece together your fragmented memories,” M’gann said, her eyes still glowing.

“Fine with me. As long as you only dig up the last six months,” Robin said.

“Yeah,” Wally agreed. “Don’t go digging too deep in my head. Some things are better left unseen.”

Artemis frowned, glancing at everyone’s faces.

“...Fine,” she agreed reluctantly. “But ditto on what they said.”

“Alright, I’m going to start now.”

Suddenly, memories flashed across their minds.

Batman gave them the mission of investigating a power surge in the Bialyan Desert.

Superboy was there. Wally now recognized him as the feral Superman they had seen.

They saw a tent guarded by soldiers near the border to Qurac.

M’gann had camouflagued herself to investigate.

Kaldur had ordered her to keep a telepathic link.

“Kaldur’ahm!” Wally suddenly screeched. “He’s out there by himself! We need to go find him before something bad happens!”

“Shit… Our memories end right when we found that tent, too,” Robin muttered, tapping away on his wrist computer. “Something must have happened to make us lose our memories after that and forced us to scatter. But you’d think Kaldur would have tried to stay with someone… Here! I found him! Let’s go!”

“Rob, you got any fuel on you?” Wally asked. “I’m running on empty.”

Robin dug around in his utility belt, pulling out an energy bar and handing them to Wally.

She quickly ate it, letting out a breath.

“If we want to get there quickly, I may need to run ahead. I’ll bring Rob with me, and M’gann can use her telekinesis to carry Artemis and follow behind us.”

“But we should stick together!” M’gann protested.

“The location is thankfully not that far. Keep us in a telepathic link so you can keep track of us,” Robin said. “It’s our best bet in getting Kaldur to safety. How much fuel did that get you, KF?”

“Adding your weight into the equation, probably just enough to get us to Kaldur.”

“You won’t be able to carry him to the Bio-ship?” Artemis asked.

“I’m not even sure I would be able to even lift him, let alone run with him. But even if I could, he weighs so much more than myself or Robin or even you that I wouldn’t get far, especially with how low I am.”

“Then we’ll have to figure something out when we find him. M’gann and I will follow behind you.”

Wally nodded, picking Robin up bridal style.

“Keep me going in the right direction, Rob.”

“I got your back, KF.”

_ Telepathic link set. Good luck, you two. _

Wally shifted her grip on Robin, pulling down her goggles and running in the direction he pointed her in.

“...Were we actually flirting before?” Robin asked her.

“Was that flirting? I thought it was our usual banter. Is that considered flirting?”

“I forgot you don’t know what flirting is…”

“You know, I think I have a good grasp on it,” she said. “You do know who I live with, right?”

“Gross. Don’t make me think of Barry flirting.”

Wally laughed slightly, tightening her grip on him.

“So, I don’t think what we were doing is flirting, but Aunt Iris says people flirt in different ways. I guess it’s up for debate.”

“Guess so…”

_ Head’s up, we’re closing in on Kaldur’s location. _

_ Got it. We’ll catch up. _

“Just up ahead. He should be behind that rock.”

She nodded, running over and skidding to a stop, setting him down.

“And I am officially out of juice,” she muttered, peeking behind the rock. “Holy shit… Kaldur!”

Kaldur was laying on his back in the sand, mumbling in Atlantean and looking worse for wear.

“Shit… He’s extremely dehydrated. We’re gonna need to find a way to get him back to the Bio-ship and hook him up to an IV or something.”

“You found him!” came M’gann’s voice from nearby.

“He looks half dead,” Artemis commented, landing on her feet. “M’gann, you should take him back to the Bio-ship. You’re the only one capable of doing that right now.”

“But what about Superboy? We need to find him, too! He’s running around like that because he didn’t exist six months ago.”

“Okay, M’gann, I get it,” Wally said. “But Superboy is indestructible. And Kaldur is dying. I’m pretty sure Kaldur takes precedence in this situation.”

“But-!”

M’gann paused, wincing as she sensed pain coming from Superboy.

She flew off without another word, leaving her Teammates alone.

“M’gann! Fuck… How’re we gonna get Kaldur to safety now?!”

“Alright, let’s just relax,” Artemis said. “Anyone happen to know how to make a stretcher? We’ll carry him on foot to the Bio-ship.”

“I know how to make one, but do we even have the supplies?” Wally asked.

“Let me guess. Roy taught you field survival,” Robin said, starting to dig through his utility belt again.

“Yep. And I’m gonna guess you have things I could use to make one.”

“Kinda. Here’s some kind of… fire blanket? I think?” he said, voice unsure as he tossed a green fabric onto the ground. “I dunno, I only pack some of the things in here. And we can use these to carry him. I never really put them to good use.”

He threw down two small objects, both of them popping open into poles.

“Alright… I’ll make one up real quick and then we can get moving. Rob, do you have the Bio-ship’s location?”

“Yeah. We’ll need to be fast, but quiet and stealthy. Those soldiers might still be after us.”

Wally hummed in response, putting the stretcher together and hooking her arms under Kaldur’s.

“Artemis, help me lift him onto this thing.”

She nodded, carefully grabbing his legs and moving him onto the stretcher.

“Okay, he’s on. There’s two ways we can do this. We can either have one person drag him behind the others or two people carry him on either end. That second option would boil down to me and Artemis since Rob has the location and needs to lead us that way.”

“The second option is our best bet. There’s too much of a chance of him falling off if we drag him,” Robin said.

“Fair enough. Artemis, you grab one end. I’ll grab the other. On three, we’ll stand up together so we don’t jostle him too much.”

“Where did you learn first aid training?”

“Take a wild guess. On three. One… Two… Three!”

They both stood up, bringing the stretcher with them.

“Alright, let’s move.”

“Uh, one more thing,” Artemis said, not budging just yet. “You look like a yellow beacon just asking the soldiers to find us again. Switch back into your stealth tech.”

“I got’cha, KF.”

Robin reached up, gently tapping her suit symbol and changing her suit to black again.

“There. Let’s go. We’ve got a good walk ahead of us.”

The trio started off, Robin in the lead as he followed his GPS to the Bio-ship.

As they trekked through the sand, Wally felt a rumbling in the ground.

“We’ve got company.”

“Quick, behind that rock. I’ll lead them away and come back,” Robin said, keeping his voice low.

Once they were safely behind cover, Robin snuck off.

The rumbling in the sand seemed to follow him.

Wally glanced down at Kaldur, pouting slightly.

“We’re gonna have to double time the rest of the way.”

“Alright, I led them away with my communicator,” Robin said as he returned. “We should hurry if we don’t want them to catch on and find us.”

They set off once again, speeding up their pace and keeping an eye out for any stray soldiers.

“It’s just up ahead. We’ll get him in and make sure we keep the Bio-ship in camouflage mode until Miss M and Superboy catch up,” he whispered, glancing around for any sign of trouble or an ambush.

He pulled ahead of Wally and Artemis, finding the camouflaged Bio-ship and getting it open.

The two girls quickly followed him inside, the hatch shutting behind them.

A table appeared from the floor, all three sidekicks hefting Kaldur onto it.

“Where are we going to get an IV? Can the Bio-ship do that?” Artemis asked.

“Red suggested we stock the Bio-ship with medical supplies just in case a mission goes south,” Wally explained, opening the places she stored them. “So I took some stuff from Mount Justice and put it in here! There should be one… Aha! Here we go! And plenty of extra bags just in case.”

She moved quickly to set it up, finding a vein in his arm and carefully inserting the IV.

“Okay! Now all we have to do is wait until either the others get back or Kaldur wakes up.”

“So what should we do until then?” Robin asked.

“I actually have a question for Artemis that I’ve been meaning to ask since she said it. Artie, what the fuck did you mean that your father probably wanted you to kill me?”

“Artie? That’s a new one,” Robin said with a smirk. “But do tell, ‘Artie’.”

“I was just… confusing the situation with the plot of a ninja movie I watched before. You can’t blame me for being confused. I didn’t remember anything.”

Wally narrowed her eyes suspiciously for just a moment before smiling at her, any suspicion gone from her face.

“Alright then!”

_ Team, I’ve found Superboy! We’re en route back to the Bio-ship! _

Aqualad suddenly sat up with a jolt, Wally and Robin immediately at his side.

“What was that?! Who is in my head?!”

“Woah, buddy, woah! Relax, it’s alright!” Wally said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Kaldur took a few deep breaths.

“Kid? Robin? W-Where are we? What are we doing here?”

_ Hello, Megan! Aqualad doesn’t have his memories back! I’ll take care of that when we get back. _

Wally smiled, though a thought soon came to her.

“Augh! I forgot to get a souvenir in all the chaos!” she groaned.

_ Don’t worry about that. Superboy and I have it covered this time. _

“Kid, why did you change your costume?” Kaldur asked.

“It’s stealth tech! Super cool, right? I can change back, too! Watch!”

She grinned and tapped the symbol on her chest, the black fading back into her signature yellow.

“Tada!”

“I’m pretty sure yours does the same thing, but don’t quote me on that,” Robin added.

“Sorry we took so long!” M’gann greeted once she arrived. “We had a little trouble with another person with psychic power.”

Superboy stepped inside, a metal sphere following him in.

“Oh! A souvenir that’s alive besides Nabu!” Wally said excitedly, hurrying over. “So cool!”

“Her name is Sphere,” Superboy said.

“Minus some points for a less than creative name, but I love her! She’s definitely not made of Earth technology. Do you mind if we run some tests on her back at STAR Labs? You can come with us!”

“Maybe some other time. She’s been through a lot.”

M’gann restored Kaldur’s memories, smiling before taking the pilot’s seat.

“Okay, Kaldur, you just rest for the trip home,” Wally said. “If you try to get up, I will tie you down.”

“Your threats are empty, Kid.”

“Wanna bet?”

“I wouldn’t tempt her,” Robin said with a smirk. “She might just do it. And you were pretty much dead when we found you, so you should rest anyway.”

“I did not intend to move anyway.”

She laughed at that, grinning widely and doubling over slightly in her seat.

Superboy rolled his eyes, though there was a tiny smile on his lips.

Sphere beeped happily.

M’gann giggled a bit herself, smiling as her friends teased each other.

Artemis smirked and shook her head, though she blinked when she caught Robin staring fondly at Wally.

Robin caught her gaze, raising a finger to his lips.

Artemis nodded and looked away.

It wasn’t any of her business, anyway.


	25. How to Catch a Missing Speedster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello!  
> Updates will be slowing down due to the holidays and me being back in school for a bit.  
> I'm hoping to pick them up again after the New Year, but only time will tell.

“Today, you will be conducting a mission,” Black Canary said, standing in front of the Team.

Well, most of the Team.

A certain speedster was missing from the group, and no one had heard from her.

“As you may have all figured out, Kid Flash is missing. And since the Flash is needed for other, more serious matters, this mission is being passed on to the Team. We have her last known location and possible places she could be. Your job is to gather intel, find Kid Flash, and bring her safely back to Mount Justice. Any questions?”

“Why didn’t the Flash just drop everything to go find her?” Robin asked, raising his hand. “Normally he would!”

“Good question, but as I said, he’s needed for more pressing matters at the moment. We cannot complete the League missions without him. Trust me, if it wasn’t important, we wouldn’t be asking him to stay away from this mission.”

“So where do we start? If Kid is missing, we should get moving immediately,” Kaldur said.

“Central City Jitters Coffee Shop. Her usual haunt, if I’m not mistaken. She was last seen there. This mission can be conducted in civvies, but it’s entirely up to you.”

“Very well. We will formulate a plan and go from there.”

“So, how do you find a missing speedster?” Robin wondered aloud. “Clearly she’s not visiting her usual haunts if she’s actually missing… but we could check out the museums and such anyway.”

Kaldur nodded.

“What if we expand our search area outside of Central?” Artemis suggested. “She could be in Starling or Gotham as well. She should have old haunts there, too.”

“Then we will split up into separate teams in order to cover more ground. Artemis, Robin, you two will cover Gotham since you both know the city better than the rest of us. Superboy and Miss Martian will search Central. Superboy should know most of Kid’s favorite places to hang around.”

“What about you?” Robin asked. “You’re not a part of either team.”

“I will be going to Starling City. And I will be attempting to employ an extra hand in our search for our missing Teammate. He may be less… resistant if he knows the situation.”

“Good luck getting him to answer you. He’s still ignoring KF’s messages.”

“I will do my best, then. We will keep in touch through comms. If anyone finds anything, be sure to report it immediately.”

With the Team now split up, Kaldur made his way to Starling City, looking around the immediate area.

“I see Green Arrow has alerted you to the situation,” he said, turning to see Roy standing behind him. “Are you here to lend your assistance?”

“Of course I am. Where’s the rest of your little sidekick squad?”

“Superboy and M’gann are in Central. Robin and Artemis are in Gotham. We are trying to cover as much ground as possible by investigating her usual spots. I could definitely use your help in this area, as I am unfamiliar with it.”

“She doesn’t come here as often anymore, but yeah, I know where she likes to go.”

“Lead the way, my friend. And tell me if you have any info on what has happened.”

Roy nodded, leading him out of the little alleyway they were in.

“Green Arrow told me the basics. Wally’s gone missing and no one’s sure if she was kidnapped or just ran away or what. But I did some minor investigating before I spotted you coming out of the Zeta tube.”

“Did you happen to find anything?”

“Nothing. But then again, I got here not long before you did, so I haven’t had the chance to properly look around.”

“Fair enough. I am unsure if we will find anything here, however. Perhaps the others will have more luck.”

Superboy frowned as the baristas at Jitters just shook their heads when asked about Wally.

“Are you sure she didn’t mention where she went?” he asked again.

“We’re sure. And there was no one with her when she came in or when she left. But then again, we can’t see anything past our line of sight through the windows, so… if someone were to meet up with her where we couldn’t see…”

He was starting to get agitated now.

Why hadn’t they kept a closer eye on her?

“Thank you for your help anyway!” M’gann said quickly before anything could escalate. “Come on, let’s go check the museums and see if anyone’s seen her there!”

He grumbled, but allowed himself to be dragged along before he started a scene.

As they walked past the alley between Jitters and the next building, Superboy spotted something on the ground.

“Hey. I think I found something.”

“What is it?”

He crouched down, picking up two familiar notebooks.

_ Superboy _

_ Miss Martian (M’gann M’orzz) _

“Someone grabbed her here. She’d never leave her notebooks lying out in the open like this.”

M’gann peeked over his shoulder, concern etched onto her face.

“Maybe we should investigate the alley some more. I’ll let Kaldur know what we’ve found and keep him updated.”

“Alright, Boy Wonder. Where are we headed?” Artemis asked, following behind Robin as he quickly walked through the streets of Gotham.

“Not many people know this, but we have a secret place we like to hang out. I think Kaldur’s the only one who knows about it.”

“And you think she might be hiding out here? Who even reported her missing?”

“...I don’t know. Canary didn’t say.”

“Hm… This all seems… off, somehow.”

“Glad I’m not the only one suspicious about this whole thing. We’re here.”

They stepped into an abandoned-looking warehouse on the edge of Gotham, though the inside was decorated like a kid’s hideout.

“We’ve been coming here for years. She might either be here or we’ll find some kind of clue that she was here. C’mon, let’s split up and look for clues.”

Artemis let out a snort at the joke, splitting off from Robin to explore one half of the warehouse.

She could tell that Wally was the one to decorate this part.

Justice League posters were plastered randomly, most of which centered around the Flash.

Broken crayons and colored pencils littered the floor by a stack of crates, blank papers scattered across it like a desk.

“Efficient little thing, isn’t she…?” she mumbled, looking through the scattered art supplies.

Most of it was covered in a thin layer of dust.

But one pile of papers seemed to be freshly placed there, set in a way as if she was meant to find it and move it.

Curious, she moved the pile of papers and spotted something even stranger.

It was a simple notebook, but the bright yellow R on the front was what caught her eye.

_ Robin _

“What the hell is this doing here…?”

She investigated the area a bit more, but found no other evidence Wally had been there.

“I found something,” both Robin and Artemis said together as they met back up in the middle of the warehouse.

“You first,” he said.

She said nothing, only held up the notebook she had found.

“Funny. I found yours tucked behind some boxes and a bunch of broken red arrows. We should let Kaldur know.”

“Good idea. Maybe the others have found something similar,” she agreed. “But why is she leaving her notebooks around? And it almost seemed like she was hiding yours in a place that only you would think to look.”

“Same here. I’m guessing she thought you’d check out the collection of arrows she had and would find your notebook. Seems like we put a wrench in that plan, but it worked out in her favor anyway.”

“This brings on another question, though…” Artemis said. “Was she really kidnapped or does she not want to be found by the League?”

Roy coughed and waved away a cloud of dust as he shouldered open the door to the hideout he and Wally used to use.

“Unless she got in another way, it looks like she hasn’t been here, either.”

“We should take a look around anyway. Her stealth skills have improved since you have last worked with her. Look,” Kaldur pointed out, pointing at the floor. “Footprints in the dust. She has been here recently.”

“Then let’s see what she left behind.”

They dug through every cabinet and every weapons cache, though didn’t find anything until

“Why is there a rolled up notebook in one of my old quivers?”

“There was one under the sink as well. And it has my name on it.”

“Same here. Weird… she never lets these ones out of her sight.”

_ “Kaldur, come in. Artemis and I found our notebooks at the warehouse in Gotham.” _

_ “Superboy and I found ours in Central in the alley near Jitters.” _

“How strange that we all found the same thing in different locations.”

_ “We should meet up and compare notes. This is super weird, even for KF.” _

“Very true. We will meet back in Central City at Jitters. Perhaps these notebooks will give us some answers.”

Kaldur turned his attention away from the comms, smiling at Roy.

“You should join us. After all, whatever is going on here, Wally clearly wanted you involved.”

“...Fine. But don’t think this makes me part of your little Young Justice League.”

“Of course. We should hurry if we wish to meet up with everyone.”

It wasn’t long until everyone was gathered around a table in Jitters, notebooks set in front of each of them.

“So, before we crack these things open to see what she’s left inside,” Robin said. “Artemis thinks Wally wasn’t kidnapped and just doesn’t want to be found by the League. And judging by where these notebooks were found, I would think that would be the case.”

“So she’s hiding something. But how did she know who would get paired up and where?” Roy asked.

“I may be a bit predictable with my pairings,” Kaldur admitted. “Superboy knows this area well enough and M’gann is a good partner for him. Artemis and Robin both live in Gotham. And I figured I would find you around Starling City somewhere.”

“And she put four out of six notebooks in places she knew only certain people knew about,” Artemis added. “But what’s her goal here and why doesn’t she want the League to find her?”

“She might’ve left something in the notebooks. Let’s check the latest entries in each of ours,” Superboy said.

They each opened their notebooks to the most recent page with writing on it.

Instead, they found loose pieces of paper with some kind of code written on it.

Each page looked like it came from the same message, but at first glance none of them could figure out what it meant.

It certainly didn’t help that each page had a different kind of code to crack on it.

“Where did she learn to encode her own handwriting?” Robin grumbled, looking over his paper a few times. “This is going to take a while to uncode…”

“No wrist computer in civvies?” Roy asked.

“It’s attached to my suit, dude. What do you want from me?”

“Why don’t we go to STAR Labs and have them see if they can decode whatever this is?”

Robin frowned slightly, gathering up all the papers.

“No. She doesn’t want anyone outside of us to find her. She went through all this trouble… and her own notebook is the only one missing from the set.”

“Alright, so we do this ourselves…”

The papers were laid out in a line, though this didn’t clear up anything.

“...This looks like nonsense, but I know it’s not…” Robin mumbled. “What was going through your head, KF…?”

He looked at each and every paper again, noting the different codes and which notebook they came from.

“...Okay, KF, I see what game you’re playing here…”

“Did you figure it out, Robin?” Kaldur asked.

“Yes and no. She’s assigned different codes to different people with varying levels of difficulty. For example,” he said, handing Superboy his paper. “Yours is just encoded as the alphabet, but backwards where Z equals A and A equals Z. I can write out what you need for it if you want.

“M’gann got something similar. But instead of the backwards alphabet, it’s in order and each letter is assigned a number 1 through 26 with A equals 1 and Z equals 26.

“Artie has a fun one. She literally wrote out ASCII code for you. I’d suggest pulling up the code on your phone to see how to solve it.

“Kaldur got braille… for some reason. That’s a weird one, she even made the bumps and everything.

“I got written out binary. Easy enough to figure out.”

“What about mine?” Roy asked, holding up his paper. “Looks like binary, like yours. And I’ve got two of them.”

“Yeah, but knowing KF, she didn’t make it that simple. My guess is, it’s a combination code. You’ll have to solve the binary before we figure out what else you need to do.”

“Great… That means she’s still mad at me…”

“Big time. Let’s get cracking so we can figure out what’s really going on here.”

Once everyone had their ciphers ready to go, they began their work in decoding the messages left for them.

“I can’t believe she  _ wrote  _ all of this…” Artemis grumbled under her breath. “Just how long did this take her?”

“With her superhuman speed, probably not as long as you think,” Robin muttered. “It probably took her longer to think of who got which code and what to encode in the first place.”

“We should ban her from doing this again…”

“Maybe later.”

“I’ve got mine done!” M’gann announced. “But it still doesn’t make sense…”

She held up her paper.

_ Four became Five but this wasn’t their start. _

“We probably have to string together a message with all six. But that’s surprisingly cryptic. If she has something to say, written or not, she doesn’t really beat around the bush.”

“If she is playing some kind of game, I do not find it as fun as she does,” Kaldur mumbled.

“She’d never joke about being trapped somewhere, though,” Roy said. “Not after what she went through growing up. So this is either real and someone mimicked her handwriting or someone put her up to this…”

“Honestly, it could be either one at this point…”

“But if someone wanted to kidnap KF, why not just steal these notebooks? Why leave them in places only we could find? There’s no way anyone but her would know about those secret locations.”

“Unless they tortured her for information.”

“But why information about where we just… hang out like friends? I think villains would want to know, I dunno, about the League? The Team? Where she keeps all the information she knows?”

“Robin does bring up a good point,” Kaldur said. “Knowing about where we spend time as friends will do villains no good as we would just simply stop going to those places. And you said it yourself, Roy, that she had not visited any of the places you frequented with her in Starling in quite a while.”

“So we’re all on the consensus that she’s essentially messing with us?” Roy asked.

There were murmured agreements throughout the group.

“Done. I think I did it right,” Superboy said, holding up his decoded message.

_ Independence Day was more than just a holiday. _

“Cadmus aftermath… Nice. Can’t say she’s not poetic,” Robin said with a smirk. “I’ve got mine done.”

_ Two became Four and Three freed the Fourth. _

“Our daring West household invasion,” Roy mumbled. “She wouldn’t speak for like a week after it happened.”

“I think I’ve got mine, finally,” Artemis grumbled.

_ Five became Six with the wrong colored tricks. _

“A poetic way of saying she hated me at first.”

Kaldur held up his paper.

_ Four became Three, but the Three found a Fourth. _

“Hey, that’s talking about you Superboy!”

“While I do think this is all one message, I do not know what she is trying to tell us. Or if this is one message after all.”

“I guess we just have to wait and see what Roy’s says.”

“She made me decode binary just to decode the backwards alphabet! But I’m finally done!”

_ One became Two, birds of a feather. _

_ Go back to where it all came together. _

“Where it all came together… We met in Green Arrow’s secret hideout. She can’t mean that, can she?”

Robin hummed in thought, taking all of the messages and setting them down on the table.

_ One became Two, birds of a feather. _

_ Two became Four and Three freed the Fourth. _

_ Four became Three, but the Three found a Fourth. _

_ Independence Day was more than just a holiday. _

_ Four became Five but this wasn’t their start. _

_ Five became Six with the wrong colored tricks. _

_ Go back to where it all came together. _

“Look, it’s a story. A poem about the creation of the Team.”

“So where it all came together should be…” Kaldur muttered.

“We need to get to the Hall of Justice. That’s where everything was kickstarted into motion.”

“We should hurry. Even if Kid is not in any danger, we should treat the situation as if she is.”

The six teens hurried over to the nearest Zeta tube, ending up outside of the Hall of Justice.

“Dammit, I said to take us inside!” Robin said loudly.

“Someone must have closed off that Zeta tube. Let’s hurry inside.”

They rushed inside, Robin finding the door they had gone through the first day they came here.

“Good thing I know Batman’s code for everything…” he mumbled, punching it in and yanking the door open.

“KF!”

“Kid!”

“Wally!!”

“Hey, guys! Took you long enough!” Wally greeted cheerfully, lounging lazily on one of the armchairs and reading one of the many books in the Hall’s library. “I’ve been waiting all day for you guys to get here and find me!”

“Wally, if this was some kind of game-” Roy started to say.

“This isn’t a game. It’s a training exercise, plus you! I had a lot of fun hiding my notebooks and making those secret messages, though.”

“Who put you up to this?” Robin demanded.

“All will be revealed once the exercise is over,” she said calmly, putting the book back on the shelf.

“We did complete the exercise, weirdo.”

She shook her head.

“Nope! You forgot the most important part! I’m not back at Mount Justice yet! I was explicitly told not to reveal anything until the exercise was finished, and it wouldn’t be finished until the Team brought me back to Mount Justice as instructed by Black Canary!”

“But who told you that?!”

“What part of ‘finish the exercise’ do you guys not understand? I’ll reactivate the Zeta tube in here and we can go!”

“But-”

“She is right,” Kaldur interrupted. “We have not completed the mission. Kid, take us home.”

She smiled and unlocked the Zeta tube, gesturing for someone to walk through it.

Kaldur took the lead, Wally following him in and the rest of the Team close behind.

They were greeted by Black Canary, Batman, Red Tornado, and the Flash.

Wally grinned and hurried over to her mentor.

“Excellent work, Team,” Batman said. “And an excellent job to Red Arrow as well.”

“Kaldur was right. He is predictable in his partner assignments,” Roy said with a smirk, walking over to stand with the League members and Wally.

“Roy was in on it??”

“Yeah, I was in on it. Who do you think planted the notebooks in the Starling safehouse? Wally’s never set foot in there before.”

“This training exercise was to test your ability to locate a missing ally and bring them back to safety. Each of you decoded your messages far quicker than we originally thought,” Batman said.

“I didn’t want to make any of them too hard…” Wally said sheepishly. “And Roy already knew the answers to his, so… I think the hardest one was Artemis’s.”

“Should we be expecting more of these surprise training exercises?” Kaldur asked.

“Yes. But it may not be Kid Flash who helps out again. Though, she did her part very well. You are all excused.”

“I may not be available for the next round,” Roy said. “I only did this for Wally.”

“I am aware,” Batman replied. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“Rob, wait up! Tell me how you solved those codes so quickly!” Wally called out.

“Kid Flash, a word,” he said, gesturing toward the meeting room.

“Aw…”

“I’ll tell you about it later, KF.”

She pouted, having already spent all day away from her friends.

But she followed the adults into the meeting room, sitting when she was directed to.

“So, kid…” Flash started to say.

“Am I in trouble? Is this about nearly getting caught by Superboy in the alleyway when I was trying to drop off the notebooks?”

“No,” Batman said. “This is about the long period of time you spent in the Hall of Justice staring blankly into the security camera.”

“...I did what?” she asked, genuinely confused. “I don’t remember staring at a camera… I thought I was reading the whole time! How long…?”

“Nearly an hour.”

She swallowed and dug her fingers into her thighs.

A flash of fear crossed her face but it soon disappeared.

“I might’ve just zoned out for a while! No big deal, happens sometimes!”

“Was it you zoning out?” Flash asked. “Or did you have an encounter with your… sentient speedforce?”

She frowned at that, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Why’d you say it like that? You still don’t believe me…” she mumbled.

“Because you have no proof! I thought you were a scientist, kiddo!”

“Well, maybe this is just like Nabu, alright?! Maybe the speedforce and Nabu are the only mystical things I can believe in because I have no way of proving them otherwise!”

“Start from the beginning, Kid Flash,” Batman said, interrupting the argument. “And only Kid Flash.”

She took a deep breath.

And told him everything she knew.

“You think KF is okay?” Robin asked. “I mean, Batman never asks to speak with someone after a mission unless something’s going on…”

“Perhaps there are things Batman needs to go over with her about her part of the mission,” Kaldur suggested. “She did play a big role and perhaps not all of it needs to be heard by us.”

“Yeah, but… it’s the way he said it… Y’know, like he says your alias and then ‘a word’ like… that means bad things…”

“Yeah, like that time Kaldur got in trouble after our mission against Clayface,” Artemis put in.

“I suppose you have a point. But I do not think that Kid is-”

“How many of you knew about Kid Flash’s speedforce theory?” Batman interrupted, suddenly entering the room with Wally, Flash and Black Canary trailing behind him.

Everyone but Artemis raised their hands.

“She has a theory about it? She told me she wasn’t sure about anything…” Artemis said.

“While Kid Flash was waiting in the Hall of Justice, there was a good hour where she simply stared into the security camera. She did not blink or move. She claims to have been possessed by the speedforce which is why she was frozen in time.”

“She just stood there?” Robin asked. “I wonder… I offered to have Miss M link our minds the next time that happened, but it hasn’t happened around us before…”

“I already told you I don’t have any control over it… They decide when to talk to me…” Wally grumbled, not meeting anyone’s eye.

“Hmm…” Robin hummed in thought. “But we’ve never bothered asking if we can speak to them… Or, should I say, you’ve never asked to speak to them, right?”

“Not really…”

“To put this argument to rest, we will have to force the speedforce to possess Kid Flash again,” Batman concluded. “Miss Martian, as soon as it happens, connect our minds.”

Wally scoffed, rolling her eyes heavily.

“I can’t control it. What part of that don’t you-”

She stopped speaking, arms dropping to her side limply and eyes glazing over.

M’gann’s eyes began to glow as she linked everyone’s minds together to see what Wally saw.

_ “Friends of yours, Wally West?” a teasing voice asked. _

_ The voice sounded neither male nor female, however it also sounded strangely familiar to everyone present. _

_ “As if you don’t know…” Wally grumbled slightly. “What’s the big deal dragging me back in here on command?” _

_ “You finally get a chance to prove your theory and you are upset. Quite the enigma, Wally West.” _

_ “Kiddo, who is this?” Barry asked. “And why do they look like Iris?” _

_ “We believe Wally West has already told you who we are, Barry Allen. And we take on the form of someone familiar to each individual. For their comfort, of course. For example, who do you see me as, Wally West?” _

_ “Well, right now, I’m seeing double of Rob…” _

_ “Fascinating! We were Kaldur’ahm not too long ago!” _

_ “So, wait,” Barry said. “If you’re really the speedforce, why are you only speaking with Wally and not me or Jay?” _

_ “We have… attempted to speak with other speedsters before Wally West. However, neither of you were willing to open your mind to us. Wally West was more than willing to speak with us after our first encounter.” _

_ Robin frowned and narrowed his eyes slightly behind his sunglasses. _

_ Both Wallys standing before him looked identical. _

_ Which one was he supposed to concentrate on. _

_ “Mm… I dunno which KF I’m supposed to be asking this, but… why not make yourself known to us before? Why have us think she was making you up?” _

_ “It may be easier for you, Robin, if you think of us as Kid Flash and not Wally West. The costume will help you differentiate,” they said. “To answer your question… Well, Wally West was actually blocking us out due to her frustration. If she had not been as frustrated, we would have shown ourselves back in STAR Labs.” _

_ “What do you want with Kid Flash?” Batman asked. _

_ “We are here to guide her. As you very well know, she is still learning about the world and behind in what she should know at this age. It is not her fault, of course, but we wish to help.” _

_ “And her speed?” Artemis asked. “Why is she so much slower?” _

_ “Hm… Why is that, we wonder…” _

_ “Quit messing around and answer the question!” Superboy demanded. _

_ “We would if we knew the answer, Superboy. There should be nothing stopping us from giving her more power, but… there is something that will not allow us to inside Wally West’s mind.” _

_ “What is it?” _

_ “We have already discussed this, but it seems as if it is beyond even our knowledge. What is strange about this is that we have seen Wally West in the future and she outclasses Barry Allen in speed. So… perhaps she is simply not ready…? We are not sure.” _

_ “So you are not completely omnipotent…” Kaldur said. “You can see the past, present, and future, but you cannot see what is preventing Kid from improving.” _

_ “Aw, don’t say it like that, Kaldur…” Wally mumbled, pouting slightly. _

_ “Correct. If you had a question about your timeline, we would be glad to answer it. Provided it does not greatly affect the outcome of your life.” _

_ “What do you mean by that?” _

_ “Fate is real, as we are sure you are all aware. Wally West can tell you from experience that Nabu is real and protects Fate itself. We cannot change our future, no matter how much we wish to.” _

_ The sadness in their tone struck something in Robin, forming a question. _

_ “...What did you see in KF’s future?” he asked softly. _

_ “A tragedy.” _

_ Wally’s head snapped up to look over at them with wide eyes, her mouth open to ask what they meant when _

_ “We have said too much already. We will attempt to speak through Wally West directly next time we have information for you, Robin. Please take care of her.” _

Wally clutched at her head for a moment, shaking it slightly.

Groans broke out amongst her friends and even from Barry.

“That’s what it feels like every time you talk to them, KF…? I feel for you…”

“My head never hurts after a chat with them… I think it was because you were all there and they kicked us out so suddenly after…”

She paused for a beat and straightened up.

“They said there’s a tragedy they couldn’t change no matter what they did in my future.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

“Hey, kiddo,” Barry said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t think too much on it, alright? You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, and you don’t even know when this tragedy is supposed to happen. So just concentrate on growing up, alright?”

She nodded, pressing her face into his shoulder.

“I’ve got you, kiddo, I’ve got you…”


	26. Homefront

“Good evening, Kid,” Kaldur greeted as a yellow blur passed him in the kitchen.

“Uh-huh… Kaldur, where’s Rob? He’s been ignoring my messages all day and now he’s not here!”

“I believe he should be here soon, along with Artemis. Be patient. We are not going anywhere.”

“I know, but… I dunno, I feel like something’s gonna go wrong and he won’t be here to help… or something…”

“What makes you say that?”

“...I had a weird dream last night about… an attack. It was me, you, SB and Miss M… But we were outmatched and Rob and Artie weren’t there to help and… and then I woke up.”

“Did this dream come from the speedforce?”

“Dunno. Haven’t asked and I’m not even sure if it’s gonna happen, but I can’t shake the feeling…”

“Perhaps some time with your friends will ease your worries. Superboy and M’gann are in the hanger bay if you would like to go join them.”

“Are you coming, too?”

Kaldur chuckled.

“You are much faster than me, Kid. I will meet you there.”

It was then that he noticed something missing from Wally’s shoulders.

“Oh, did you not bring your backpack?”

“I dropped it off in the souvenir room. For some reason, that felt like the safest place for it today… Besides, I’m sure Nabu will make sure no one steals my things!”

“Can he utilize his powers without a host?” Kaldur asked.

“I… don’t think so… But I told him to watch my stuff anyway. He ignored me, like usual…”

“I do not think he can speak outside of the Helmet, Kid.”

“I guess you’re right. I’m gonna go find SB. See if I can sneak up on him.”

She ran out of the kitchen, leaving Kaldur alone.

“Oh, Red!” she said cheerfully, coming to a stop and backpedaling to walk with Red Tornado. “Going somewhere?”

“Yes. Despite being exempt due to the Team, I must take up monitor duty in the Watchtower tonight.”

“How come?”

“Green Arrow said he had a ‘hot date’ with Black Canary tonight.”

“Ooh, spicy! Well, have fun, Red! We’ll let you know if anything happens!”

“Do try and keep it clean in here, Kid Flash. I did not forget what the Team did to the kitchen on your first day here.”

“We’ll clean up our messes, don’t worry. Are SB and Miss M still in the hanger bay?”

“Yes.”

“Cool, thanks Red! You’re the best!”

She ran off again, trying her best to keep quiet.

Slowing down she tried to sneak into the hanger bay, but

A curious beep stopped her in her tracks and alerted her targets to her presence.

“Aw, Sphere!” she said, pouting and gently patting Sphere. “You totally gave me away, you traitor!”

Sphere beeped softly, rolling away as Superboy and M’gann approached.

“I heard you coming down the hallway and talking with Red anyway,” Superboy said with a smirk.

“Jeez, you get an Earth name and go to school and now you’re being mean…” she grumbled halfheartedly, pouting up at him. “How was school today, Conner?”

“You were right. It does just get worse and worse.”

“Told ya. What’s on the agenda for today? Rob and Artemis aren’t here yet.”

“No missions, so who knows.”

“How was school for you, Wally?” M’gann asked.

“Ugh! Don’t even get me started! I had so many people asking me for help at lunch and after school and I cut the study session short because I thought Rob would be here! If I had known he’d be late, I wouldn’t have rushed over!”

M’gann giggled softly as Wally kept mentioning Robin.

“It sounds like the whole reason you wanted to come here today was because of Robin! That’s so cute! I wonder if Robin knows you wait for him all the time.”

Superboy expected Wally to either brush it off or ask what she meant.

But Wally’s face turned red and she stuttered a few times as she tried to defend herself.

“I-I’m not-! H-He’s not-! How could-!”

She giggled again.

“How adorable! You  _ do  _ have a crush on Robin! I knew it!”

“M-M-Maybe I do…! B-B-B-B-But he’s not i-into girls like me…”

“What makes you say that?”

Wally pouted and scratched the back of her head.

“I’m, like… one of the guys, y’know? Didn’t really have any girl friends until recently, so… And besides! He’s 13 and I don’t think he’s shown any interest in girls before. Not that I know of, anyway.”

“Who has not shown interest in girls?” Kaldur asked as he walked in. “Do I even want to know?”

“Oh, Wally has a-”

Wally shushed her quickly before turning to Kaldur.

“We were talking about Rob. He’s never talked about girls before, y’know?”

“A fair point. However, we can just ask him when he arrives.”

“If he ever decides to grace us with his presence.”

“You seem more upset today that he is not here. Is there-”

Kaldur was cut off as a blast of both fire and water attacked the Team.

Wally and Superboy managed to avoid the initial blast, but were quickly outmatched by their aggressors.

“Shit… They’ve got Kaldur and M’gann in a cage made of fire…” Wally hissed through her teeth as she and Superboy hid.

“What do we do?”

“Did you happen to get a look at whatever attacked us?”

“Yeah… Looked like Red, but… not Red. And there were two of them.”

“Okay… And it seems like one controls fire and one controls water. You go after the fire one and I’ll go after the water one. Hopefully that’ll give us enough time until Robin and Artemis get here…”

“Did you send the SOS?”

She shook her head.

“Communications are jammed. Whoever sent these things really thought ahead.”

“So we just attack head on, then?”

She hesitated for a few moments. And then nodded.

“We don’t have a choice. We’ll have to hold them off until help arrives. They must have known only the superpowered members of the Team would be here right now…”

“But how?”

“...Maybe there’s a mole… But who could it possibly be…?” she mumbled to herself. “We can’t worry about that now. Let’s try and take these things down.”

Superboy nodded.

The two of them hurried back into the room to try and rescue their Teammates.

What Wally didn’t tell Superboy was that their failure was almost imminent.

If four of them couldn’t take down these two androids, the two of them had no chance.

This found them both trapped, unable to move as water slowly filled the hole they were in.

“Ugh… I hope Rob and Artemis get here soon…!”

The intercom buzzed to life, a robotic voice sounding over it.

_ “Attention, sidekicks. You have ten minutes to surrender yourselves and save your teammates’ lives. If you fail to do so, the outcome will not be in your favor.” _

“Guess they’re around here somewhere…” she mumbled, raising her chin slightly to try and keep her head above the water for a bit longer.

“Ten minutes isn’t a lot of time,” Superboy said.

“And knowing Rob, he’s not just going to surrender without a plan.”

More water rushed into the hanger bay, Wally sputtering a bit as her face was splashed multiple times.

Two figures surfaced, gasping for breath.

“Behind you!”

“Heads up, Rob!”

Robin and Artemis ducked back under the water to avoid the fire blasts aimed at them.

One blast just barely missed Wally, burning away part of her goggle straps.

The goggles fell into the water, but was scooped up by a gloved hand.

“How you holding up, KF?” Robin asked, sounding a bit out of breath.

“Oh, y’know. Could be better. Don’t worry about us, though. Miss M and Aqualad are worse off than us!”

“Miss Martian is unconscious,” Kaldur called out, his voice sounding weak. “But I fear we will not be able to hold out much longer…”

“We need to regroup and figure out what to do, Artemis,” Robin said. “Head for the stairs. I’ll hold onto your goggles until this is over, KF.”

“Appreciate it.”

The two non-superpowered teens tried to make their escape, fending off the androids with arrows and batarangs.

One lucky batarang embedded itself in the metal by Wally’s face.

There was no word from their teammates for quite a few minutes until the batarang near her head started to speak.

_ “Yo, KF. I need that beautiful brain of yours.” _

“What’s up?”

_ “Electromagnetic pulse. Happen to know how to set one up on the fly?” _

“Naturally. But you know you’ll have to plug that thing into the main generator, right?”

_ “That’s a risk I’m willing to take to get you guys out of there. Walk me through it.” _

“Alright, do exactly as I say…”

She walked him through each and every step, repeatedly asking him if he was following as she spoke.

“Everything good? You got it?” she asked for the millionth time.

_ “Yeah, I’ve got it. We’re gonna make our way back into the hanger to set this up. Keep those Red imposters distracted for us.” _

“You know I’m good at distractions.”

Robin laughed softly over the comms.

_ “Yeah, I know. When you see us climbing out of the vents, start your distraction. We’re going radio silent for now.” _

“Got it. Good luck.”

_ “Thanks.” _

The comms were silenced, Wally keeping an eye on the vent cover.

Once she saw a familiar figure near the vent cover, she smirked and turned her attention to Red Inferno and Red Torpedo.

“Hey, tin cans! Couple of Red Tornado wannabes! Over here!” she shouted, successfully drawing their attention.

As she repeatedly insulted them and kept their attention, keeping one eye on what Robin and Artemis were doing.

Robin had it plugged in, but why wasn’t it working?

A realization came to her.

“He doesn’t have a conductor…” she whispered, forgetting her task for a brief moment.

That brief moment was enough for the androids to see what Robin was doing.

Robin was captured, but Artemis managed to escape into the vents again, completely out of ammo.

“Robin! Hey, let him go!” Wally shouted, raising her chin more as the water rose.

She was ignored, forced to watch as Robin struggled in his water prison before going limp.

“Shit… Artemis, you better hurry and think of something…”

_ “One minute remaining, Artemis,”  _ the robotic voice said over the intercom.

Wally sucked in a deep breath, the water engulfing her head now.

She held her breath for as long as she could, her cheeks turning pink and then red.

And then the water was gone, as if a drain had opened up.

She gasped as she caught her breath, looking around to see that the androids - and all machines, actually - were disabled.

“Miss Martian is still breathing!” Kaldur announced.

_ Oh, that’s good…  _ Wally thought.  _ But what about…? _

“Robin’s still breathing, too! He’ll be alright!” Artemis called out.

“Oh… Rob’s okay… I’m glad…” she mumbled softly.

Superboy glanced over at her.

“...If you’re happy… then why are you crying?”

She let out a small laugh and shook her head.

“I dunno… Kinda weird, right?”

“Yeah… Kinda weird…”

She watched as Robin sat up and said something to Artemis.

Artemis shook her head and said something back, gesturing over to Wally and Superboy.

“Aw, KF, you’re soaked!” Robin teased lightly as the Team worked to try and get their Teammates out of their metal prisons.

“So are you. Didn’t wreck my goggles, did you?”

“If I did, I’ll just fix ‘em up for you.”

“Good. They’re my only pair!”

“Team, what has happened here?” a familiar robotic voice asked.

All eyes looked to see Red Tornado floating nearby.

Relief and happiness flowed through the Team.

“Ah, it’s really good ol’ Red…” Wally said, sighing in relief.

“We were attacked, Red,” Robin explained, stepping forward with Artemis. “We were attacked by two Red wannabes. They’re right over there. Artemis managed to set off an EMP that disabled them.”

“How odd. First there was Mister Twister, who mimicked my powers. And now there are these two who look like me. What could this mean?” Red wondered aloud.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” Wally asked. “I thought you had monitor duty up in the Watchtower?”

“Communications were down here, so I tried to teleport inside. The Zeta tubes appeared to be down, so I teleported nearby and flew here as fast as I could.”

“I think we had it handled pretty well,” Robin said. “Even if Artemis freaked out for a bit.”

Wally nodded sagely.

“Must be her first time experiencing a near-failed mission.”

Sphere beeped as she came back online, dislodging herself from the wall.

The drill buzzed back to life.

“Guess the EMP effects wore off…” Robin muttered.

Red floated over to the other two androids, looking down at them.

He reached out and just barely touched Red Inferno.

“How long do you think this’ll take, Kaldur?” Wally asked as they got back to work trying to free their Teammates.

“Hopefully not too long, Kid.”

She looked over to see Red floating high into the air.

“Oh, what’s up, Red?” she asked cheerfully, though she paused. “Wait… Something’s not right…”

Red didn’t respond, raising his hands.

Wally choked a bit as the air was sucked out of the room, her vision swimming as they suffocated and fell unconscious.

“Hey, kiddo! Can you hear me?”

Wally groaned, opening her eyes to see Barry standing over her.

“Uncle… Barry…?” she rasped, seeming confused.

What was she doing on the floor?

And…

“Where’s Red?” she asked.

“What do you mean, kid? No one was here when we found you all passed out in the hanger bay.”

“So that means…” she mumbled.

“Those other two androids are gone, too,” Robin finished. “But why would Red betray us like that?”

“Maybe he didn’t mean to? I mean, he was all fine and dandy before he touched one of those other androids,” she said, getting to her feet and brushing off her costume.

“Start from the beginning,” Batman said sternly. “Tell us everything that happened.”

The Team took turns telling the story, each side learning something new.

“I see. Leave Red Tornado to the League. Tomorrow, you will be assigned a new den mother to watch over the Team until we are finished with this… situation. Are there any questions?”

Wally raised her hand.

“Yes, Kid Flash?”

“You don’t think Red was some kind of mole, do you? I mean, there’s no way those other androids could have gotten in without the help of someone else, but… Red would never… right?”

“We do not want to suspect Red Tornado, however the truth remains to be seen. We will update you all if anything comes up. Do not go out looking for Red Tornado or the other androids. Is that understood? This is a League matter.”

There were murmured agreements throughout the Team, Batman accepting this as the only answer he’d get.

“For now, you are all dismissed. Take some time to relax after this… experience.”

“Hey, Rob, I-” Wally started to say.

“Robin, I need you to unscramble the security footage,” Batman said as he walked out of the hanger bay.

“Sorry, KF. Maybe we can catch up later.”

She pouted and deflated as Robin left the room, crossing her arms over her chest.

Barry let out a breath and offered a smile, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Why don’t you spend some time with Artemis or your other friends until Robin is done?”

“Because it’s going to take all night and you know Aunt Iris doesn’t like me out late at night if I’m not on a mission…”

“So what do you wanna do, kiddo?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but was beat to it as Artemis shoved herself into the conversation - literally and figuratively.

“I’ll walk her home later, don’t worry. We’ll keep her company and cheer her up before we send her home!”

“Oh. Thanks, Artemis. I’ll let Iris know what’s going on.”

Wally tried to protest, but once again Artemis wouldn’t let her speak.

“No problem, Mr. Allen. And I’ll make sure she makes it home okay. C’mon, weirdo. Let’s have a chat with the rest of the Team.”

As Barry left the room and Wally was led toward the Team, she finally got a word in.

“What is this about?”

“We need to have a chat about your crush on Robin.”

“W-What do you mean? How’d you even find out?!”

“I have eyes, weirdo. I can literally see that you have a crush on him. And the fact that you got upset that he didn’t have time to talk to you after what happened just further cemented it. So now you get to be teased by your friends.”

“Aw, man…!”


	27. Alpha Male

“Look, he’s right there!” Artemis whisper-yelled, gesturing toward where Robin was chatting idly with Superboy. “Yesterday, you were all about talking to Robin and now you haven’t said a word to him since he got here!”

“Yeah, well, how else am I supposed to react?! I have a crush on him and he doesn’t even seem interested in girls!”

“How do you know that?!”

“Have  _ you _ seen him hold any interest in girls? Or boys?”

Artemis parted her lips, but found she had no arguments.

“...Okay, maybe you have a point there…”

Wally gave a small victorious smirk, glancing over to see Superboy tilting his head slightly toward where Kaldur was talking with Batman.

“What do you think Kaldur and Batman are talking about?” she asked, raising her voice to a more normal level.

“Dunno. Leader stuff, maybe,” Artemis replied. “You know Batman always has more things to say to Kaldur than he does to us. Unless we’ve fucked up royally.”

“True enough. We haven’t done anything recently that would be considered a fuck up, though. Yesterday wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

“SB, what gives?!” Robin shouted in surprise as Superboy stormed over to Kaldur and lifted him up by the front of his shirt.

“You put all of us in danger by keeping this from us!!”

“Superboy, please calm down.”

“No!! Miss Martian could have died because of you!”

“Yo, Superboy, what’s going on? What happened?” Wally asked as she and Artemis hurried over to see what all the fuss was about.

“Our so-called leader heard from Sportsmaster that there’s a mole in our ranks! And he thinks it could be Red! He just didn’t bother telling us and put our lives at risk!”

“KF almost drowned because the mole let those two androids in!” Robin seethed, glaring at Kaldur. “And so did I!”

“I should’ve learned my lesson the first time,” Wally said, a bitter tinge to her voice. “Guess you never really know someone, do you?”

“Kaldur, we nearly lost our lives because of the mole,” M’gann said sadly. “How could you keep this from us?”

“We should be asking how we can trust a leader who keeps important secrets like this from us,” Artemis practically spat.

“Enough,” Batman said, stopping the fight before it broke out. “With the absence of Red Tornado, the Team will be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift.”

“Hey, guys! We’re gonna have a lot of fun!” Captain Marvel said cheerily.

No one offered him a response.

Superboy scowled and released Kaldur roughly, glaring at him.

“I’m going to annihilate Red Tornado, and when I’m done with him, I’m going to-”

“Enough, Superboy.”

Batman’s voice interrupted the threat, Superboy turning to see the caped crusader narrowing his eyes back at him.

“As I said yesterday, Red Tornado is a Justice League member and as such, is a League matter. You are not gathered here to fight amongst one another. You are gathered here for a mission.”

He brought up a few profiles and security images, turning back to the Team.

Everyone gave Kaldur a wide berth, no one daring to stand next to him after his betrayal.

Batman didn’t comment on the matter.

“You will be investigating a series of gorilla attacks, the latest of which involved Gotham City’s Mayor Hill.”

Grumbles and moans of disgust broke out amongst the Team.

“You’re joking, right? This is some kind of joke or punishment because we were arguing?” Robin asked, not even bothering to hold any kind of respect toward his mentor at the moment.

“I never joke about the mission. Aqualad, prepare the Team to head to India.”

Wally scoffed indignantly, turning up her nose at Kaldur.

“We can prepare ourselves just fine. Don’t even bother, Aqualad.”

Without waiting for any kind of response, she walked away from Kaldur and the League members, Robin and the rest of the Team not far behind.

“You know, KF,” Robin said quietly to Wally as they boarded the Bio-ship, Captain Marvel following them on. “Captain Marvel totally blames us for what happened with Red and doesn’t trust us on our own. That’s why he’s coming along. To make sure we don’t have another incident like that.”

“Shit, really? I’m surprised… He doesn’t look like he’s suspicious of us…” she muttered back, glancing up to see Kaldur walking into the hangar bay.

She let out another scoff and raised her voice so Kaldur could clearly hear her.

“But I guess I can understand the whole trust issues thing. Looks can be deceiving.”

Kaldur had the decency to look somewhat ashamed of his actions, but Wally didn’t care.

She was tired of people lying and keeping secrets from her.

No one said a word to each other the entire trip to India, despite Captain Marvel’s attempts to get everyone involved in a conversation.

Once they landed, Robin and Artemis jumped out to scout the perimeter, coming back with no sign of danger.

“Switch to stealth mode. All of you. I want to go over the mission parameters again before we-”

“Listen, I really don’t care about what you have to say,” Wally said sharply, hitting her symbol with more force than necessary and shifting to her stealth tech. “I’m pretty sure Rob and I can figure out what’s going on without your help.”

“Yeah, good point, KF,” Robin agreed. “We can find out the important intel without anyone’s help. Not that we’d tell you what it is, Aqualad. Once we’re done, we’ll come back to the Bio-ship.”

“Kid, Robin, wait until we-”

But they had already disappeared into the brush together.

“Fucking Kaldur’ahm… Keeping secrets like he’s protecting us or something…” Wally grumbled as she and Robin made their way through the trees and bushes. “What are we even looking for, Rob?”

“We are looking for any signs of foul play from the gorilla attacks. But that’s the mission Aqualad gave us.”

Robin gave her a smirk.

“I say we find out what’s really happening here.”

She hummed and smirked back.

“I’m interested. What’cha got for me?”

Robin tapped his wrist computer a few times, bringing up the incident reports.

“It’s weird that so many people are getting attacked by gorillas and animals in this area. I’m thinking there’s something more sinister going on here.”

“You think someone’s working behind the scenes to make these animals attack people?”

“Yeah. But who would want to make animals aggressive?”

Wally didn’t answer at first, glancing over into the darkness around them.

“...I dunno, but maybe you can ask whoever - or whatever - has been following us since we split off from the others.”

“How many and how big?”

She pulled her goggles down, switching to threat detection and frowning deeply.

“We’re surrounded. All animals. And it looks like they’re all wearing some kind of collar.”

“If we can get one of the collars off, I could probably trace it back to whoever’s controlling it.”

“That’s if we can survive an attack like this.”

“You have so little faith, KF. C’mon, let’s do our usual two man fighting style! Keep ‘em on their toes!”

“Don’t disappear on me, Rob!”

“As long as you don’t run off on me!”

“No promises. You know I get caught up in the moment!”

They stood back to back, bantering with each other as the animals came into view.

Together they fought them back, managing to either disengage or break off the collars.

“Hey, looks like when the collars come off, they leave us alone,” Wally called out from the darkness, running back into view with a still intact collar in hand. “I managed to not break one if you think you can use it.”

“Aw, KF, have I ever told you you’re the best?”

“Maybe, but I don’t mind hearing it again.”

He laughed softly, taking the collar from her and hooking it up to his wrist computer.

_ Attention, Team. Captain Marvel and I were attacked by mutated animals. Are the rest of you alright?  _ came Kaldur’s voice in their heads.

_ KF and I were attacked, too. We’re working on tracking down wherever they came from with one of the collars. _

Wally gave him a look.

_ Dude, don’t tell him that! He doesn’t need to know what we’re doing! We’re following our own rules here and we’re doing just fine! _

_ Just fine, weirdo? Is that why you and your little boy- _

_ ARTEMIS, DO NOT! _

More and more bickering invaded everyone’s minds, Wally and Robin even gesturing silently as they argued with everyone else.

_ Enough! _ Kaldur shouted through the link.  _ Enough fighting. I am the elected leader of this Team. We will rescue Captain Marvel and complete the mission. After our work is done, I will willingly step down should you all wish to elect a new leader. _

_ Wait… Rescue Captain Marvel? Was he kidnapped by those animals? _

_ Unfortunately, yes. Converge back at the Bio-ship and we will formulate a plan. No fighting, no arguing. Save it until after the mission. _

“Guess we better head on back,” Robin muttered, handing her the collar that was still attached to his wrist. “Here, hold this while we walk.”

“Is Kaldur sure he wants to step down as leader?” she asked. “I mean, who else is gonna keep us mostly in line? All we’ve got besides him is a young Boy Wonder, a traumatized speedster, an archer with trust issues, a martian still new to Earth, and Superboy.”

“Why doesn’t SB get a description?”

“I think he speaks for himself, honestly.”

“Fair enough.”

“How’s the tracking coming? Any luck?”

“...Yeah, actually. I’ve pinpointed a location, and it might also be where Captain Marvel is.”

“There they are! Keeping us waiting this whole time…” Artemis grumbled, announcing their presence as they stepped into the clearing.

“Sorry, Rob’s been tracking the signal from this collar we pulled off of one of the animals. He says he’s got a location and it might be where they’re keeping our substitute den mother.”

Kaldur nodded his understanding.

“Very well. Listen close to the plan.”

The Team dispersed, taking their places as they waited for the signal to strike.

Wally pulled her goggles down to scan the inside of the building for the major threats.

_ Looks like Captain Marvel is in there. _

_ Can you see who his captors are, Kid? _

_ Looks like… Monsieur Mallah and… Oh shit… That’s the Brain. _

_ The Brain? What’s he doing out here? _ Robin asked.

_ Dunno. But we’ll find out whenever we go in, I guess. _

_ Steady, Kid. Keep your position until I give the signal. _

She huffed and kept her eyes on the occupants of the building.

The signal was given, everyone moving in.

The plan could have gone a bit smoother, but they managed to rescue Captain Marvel and get the collars off of the animals.

Wally even got Monsieur Mallah’s beret as a souvenir.

She looked over to see the white wolf that had helped them out in battle was still sticking with Superboy.

“Looks like you’ve got a penchant for strays, SB,” she teased lightly. “What’re you gonna name him? ‘Cause personally, I think Krypto is a great name!”

“...No, thanks. I think I can come up with one on my own,” Superboy said.

“Isn’t Krypto already taken, anyway?” M’gann asked.

“Details, details.”

“So, Kaldur’ahm,” Robin said, drawing everyone’s attention. “Why keep the possibility of a mole a secret? I mean, your info came from Sportsmaster of all people.”

“And he’s not the most trustworthy source,” Artemis added.

“I do agree that Sportsmaster cannot be trusted and any info he gives should be taken with a grain of salt. However, as a responsible leader, I could not completely rule out that possibility. I did not want to cause dissent within our ranks by telling you all about it.”

“That was the right decision, I’ll admit,” Robin said softly.

“I will still step down if that is what you all want. I would understand after what I have done.”

Wally hummed and looked around at her Teammates.

“All in favor of keeping our buddy Aqualad as our Team leader?” she asked, already raising her hand.

Everyone else followed her lead.

“It’s decided, then. Kaldur is still our leader.”

“Thank you, my friends. I will not let you down again.”

“Congratulations, Kaldur!” Captain Marvel said happily, patting him on the back. “I told you they wouldn’t stay mad forever! You guys will be fine getting back on your own, right?”

“The Bio-ship hasn’t let us down before!” Wally said, patting the white wolf on the head gently.

“Great! I’ve got somewhere to be!”

Captain Marvel took off on his own, leaving the Team alone in the Indian forest.

“...I think I’ll name him… Wolf,” Superboy said as they boarded the Bio-ship, Wolf following them on board.

“You keep losing points for generic and uncreative names, SB. I think Krypto is better.”

“He’s not your pet.”

“Yeah, I know…”

Once they landed back in Mount Justice, they were met with Batman awaiting their return.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“There were some minor issues in the beginning,” Kaldur said, smiling. “But everything worked out in the end.”

“And the infighting?”

“Aqualad’s still our leader,” Robin explained.

“Yeah! It may have been a bad move to keep the secret, but he had our well-being in mind!” Wally added with a grin.

“Very well. Aqualad, come give the mission report. The rest of you are dismissed for now.”

“So, KF, are you doing anything right now?”

“Normally, I would say no, but I have school tomorrow… and so do you…” she said, smiling slightly and scratching the back of her head. “But I wouldn’t mind if you walked me home. You know how Uncle Barry gets with me wandering around at night!”

Robin laughed, though it was softer than his usual one.

“Yeah, that’s true. Tell you what, we’ll stop and get some hot chocolate on the way. I’m sure he won’t mind the small delay.”

“As long as it’s not caffeine, he won’t care.”

Artemis, M’gann and Superboy watched the interaction from the sidelines.

“What an oblivious idiot…” Artemis mumbled.

“Which one?” Superboy asked.

“Both of them. Wally thinks Robin doesn’t like anyone romantically, and Robin thinks Wally still doesn’t know what a crush is.”

“I’m sure they’ll figure it out eventually…” M’gann said with a small smile.


	28. Humanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's sad Wally hour, folks.

“Nine days and your arm still hasn’t healed?” Artemis asked incredulously. “I thought you were supposed to have super healing!”

“My recovery and healing time is sped up, but it’s different when my bone is broken, Artie. It’s not the same as a few cuts or scrapes!” Wally replied, sticking her tongue out. “Give it a couple more days and I’ll be back to normal.”

“So why aren’t you training, then? Look, you’re gonna fall behind Kaldur and Robin!”

“Kid Flash is exempt from physical training until her arm is fully healed,” Black Canary said. “Thank you for such a productive week, Team. It was an enjoyable time being your den mother for the week.”

“Yeah, well, a certain someone wasn’t too productive…”

“Kid Flash was working on more intelligence based training,” Canary explained. “Batman and I put her up to increasingly difficult codes to break and nonsense files to hack into. I’d say she’s beginning to rival Robin in that skill set.”

_ Recognized Zatara 11. _

“And my daughter, Zatanna,” Zatara said to the computer as he put in the clearance for her.

_ Recognized Zatanna A03. _

“Ooh, a new sidekick…” Wally said softly, watching as a pretty dark haired girl stepped out of the Zeta tube and looked around.

“Good evening, Team,” Zatara greeted with a smile. “I would like you all to meet my daughter, Zatanna.”

“Hello… It’s nice to meet all of you,” Zatanna said, smiling shyly and waving a bit.

“Kaldur, help me up,” Wally whispered loudly.

Kaldur smiled and shook his head slightly, helping Wally to her feet and allowing her to lean on him as they approached this newcomer.

“And here I thought it was your arm that was broken,” he teased her quietly.

She rolled her eyes and playfully smacked his arm.

“Hi! I’m-” M’gann started to say, but was pushed out of the way by Robin.

“I’m Robin! Boy Wonder!” he said eagerly.

A bit too eagerly.

Kaldur stopped walking when he realized Wally had stopped, glancing down at her with a sympathetic look.

“Nice to meet you… And your friends?” Zatanna asked, gesturing behind him to the others.

“Oh, that’s Miss Martian,” he said, pointing at each Teammate as he introduced them.

“Hi there!”

“Superboy.”

Superboy said nothing, only offering a slight wave.

“Artemis.”

“Hey, it’s nice to see another girl around here.”

“And Aqualad.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Zatanna. But I believe you are forgetting someone, Robin,” Kaldur said, pointedly hoisting Wally up a bit more onto her feet.

Robin looked over, an oddly blank expression crossing his face for just a moment before it disappeared.

“Oh, right! That’s Kid Flash, my best friend! Now, are you joining the Team, Zatanna?”

“No, this is merely a visit, young Robin,” Zatara cut in.

The Team exchanged glances, M’gann setting up a link but excluding Zatanna out of habit.

_ Why does the League still have us on probation? _ Robin wondered.

_ At least Red trusted us more than anyone else who’s been our den mother…  _ Wally lamented.

_ Red betrayed us and almost got us killed!  _ Superboy reminded them, narrowing his eyes.

_ I know, but- _

“Hey, uh… why don’t you have this conversation externally?” Zatanna interrupted. “I mean, you all look weird just staring at each other and making weird head movements.”

“Our talk about Red Tornado has nothing to do with you,” Superboy said sharply.

“And the business with Red Tornado should not concern the Team, either,” Canary said sternly. “The League is searching for all three androids as well as T.O. Morrow. This is League business, so leave it to us.”

“Why don’t you give Zatanna a tour of your headquarters?” Zatara suggested.

“He says it like it’s our clubhouse or something…” Wally grumbled in Kaldur’s ear.

He gave her a small smile, keeping a grip on her waist.

“I’ll come, too!” Captain Marvel eagerly said, smiling widely.

“Actually, could you take Wolf outside?” Superboy asked. “He needs the exercise instead of being cooped up in here. We’ll meet up with you later.”

Captain Marvel agreed, leaving the room with Wolf.

Robin whistled low and smirked.

“SB’s learning how to control a situation! Nice going! Let’s get this tour on the road!”

The group of sidekicks walked through the halls, Kaldur and Wally lagging behind so they could talk. Mostly.

“We’re not going on a tour of HQ, are we?” she asked quietly.

“Of course not, Kid,” Kaldur said, a mischievous look in his eye. “Red is our den mother. We will be going out to look for him.”

“Are we bringing… her… along?”

“...Kid, are you alright?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Zatanna’s really nice, but… I guess I thought Rob just wasn’t into girls at all… But he was super eager to be the first one to greet her…”

Kaldur let out a breath, offering her an encouraging smile.

“Robin is still young. As are you. We all are. I am sure this is just a passing thing and he will realize he may not actually like Zatanna that way.”

“If you say so…”

“I am no expert. I am just offering some advice. If you would like tougher advice, I could get Artemis to talk with you.”

“Maybe later… Let’s get this mission over with and get good ol’ Red back to us.”

“Woah, Z! Loving the new look!” Robin said from up ahead.

Wally and Kaldur looked up to see Zatanna dressed in a modified magician’s outfit.

“I’m not really interested in a tour,” she said casually. “I’m more interested in some action.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“We are going to look for Red Tornado ourselves,” Kaldur declared, still keeping his grip on Wally’s waist as she leaned into his side.

He didn’t miss the way Robin’s eyes hardened slightly at the affectionate way Wally leaned into Kaldur or the arm wrapped around her waist.

Kaldur assumed his friends would be the death of him one day.

“If we’re going to look for Red,” Artemis said. “What about our new pal, here? What if she snitches on us?”

“Who’s to say you didn’t ‘kidnap’ me and make me come along on the mission?” Zatanna teased lightly, smirking at Artemis.

“Ooh, I like her. Let’s get going to the Bio-ship.”

Once on the Bio-ship, they turned it into camouflage mode, flying right over Captain Marvel and Wolf.

“Is your leg hurt, Kid Flash?” Zatanna asked softly. “You were leaning pretty heavily on Aqualad while we were walking.”

Wally hesitated for a second, but chose to not be an asshole like she had been with Artemis’s first meeting.

“No, I broke my arm last week during a mission. Kaldur and I are just really close, so sometimes he just lets me lean against him while we walk.”

“Oh, I see. Are you two dating or something?”

“N-No! No… I like Kaldur, don’t get me wrong, but he’s more like the Team mom and a big brother to me. You’ll see what I mean…”

_ “Team, where are you going with Zatanna?”  _ Canary asked over the comms.

“We’re just showing our new friend around Happy Harbor! We’ll be back soon!” M’gann said, smiling even though Canary couldn’t see her.

**_“I am not so sure about this…”_ ** Zatara muttered.

_ “You worry too much, Zatara. Those are trustworthy kids.” _

Wally picked up on the slight hesitation in those words, but Zatara clearly did not.

The call ended, allowing the Team to speak freely again.

“So, since Batman and the League are searching every logical place for Red and Morrow - with zero results, by the way - then maybe we need an illogical alternative,” Robin said. “A dumb idea, if you will.”

He immediately turned to Wally.

She looked offended, but soon realized everyone else was looking at her.

“...I do have a stupid idea…” she mumbled softly. “But I didn’t think it was stupid until… Nevermind…”

“Do tell, Kid.”

“We ask Ivo where Morrow is.”

“This is a stupid idea,” Artemis said as they were led through Belle Reve to the room they would be meeting Ivo in. “What makes you think this is even going to work?”

“You all asked for a stupid idea and I gave you one. Now you’re complaining it’s stupid?”

“Well, yeah. It is stupid. That’s how we know you came up with it.”

Wally huffed through her nose and turned her head away, cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment.

Were her friends always this mean to her?

Or were they just trying to impress Zatanna?

“Oh, it’s just you brats…” was the greeting they received from Ivo. “Why would you want to talk to me?”

“Because you know where T.O. Morrow is,” Kaldur said, crossing his arms.

“And what makes you say that?”

“You are Morrow’s biggest competitor,” Wally explained. “You should be keeping tabs on him.”

Ivo let out a breath and gave a small smirk.

“I’ll admit, I didn’t think you’d be smart enough to put that together, young lady,” Ivo said, embarrassing Wally further. “But I’m not going to tell you anything.”

Kaldur nodded his understanding.

“Miss Martian, if you would.”

M’gann tried to read his mind, but to no avail.

“A good try, but I am trained to ward off telepaths,” Ivo said, smirking more.

Zatanna rolled her eyes and leaned one arm on Ivo’s chair, saying another spell.

This spell pulled the exact location of T.O. Morrow out of Ivo’s mouth.

“Woah…” Robin breathed. “How cool…”

With their new destination at hand, Kaldur ordered radio silence over the comms.

“The League will soon find out about our visit to Belle Reve,” he explained. “It is best they do not know where we are going next.”

With everyone fussing over Zatanna’s powers, no one seemed to notice Wally staying out of the conversation.

It was strange to see her so focused on not gathering information.

Or so it would seem.

Even though she wasn’t speaking, she was writing down everything Zatanna was saying onto a little notepad she kept in her pocket.

Kaldur took notice.

“Kid,” he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine. Just… thinking…” she mumbled, putting the notepad back in her pockets once everyone stopped talking about how great Zatanna was.

“When I see Red Tornado, I’m going to show him just how much he’s hurt us!” Superboy said, clenching his fists. “I’m going to destroy him.”

“Superboy, we should let Red have a chance to prove he is more than just a weapon designed by someone else. I am sure you can relate.”

Superboy bared his teeth, but backed down for now.

“Make sure you are all in stealth mode when we touch down,” Kaldur said, keeping his voice low and soft.

Wally reached up to poke at her chest symbol, aware of Zatanna watching her.

“Ooh! How did you do that?” she asked.

“Uh… I can switch between stealth tech and my regular costume by pressing-”

“Don’t bore her with the details, KF. Not everyone’s as interested in science as you.”

“...Yeah… I know…” she whispered, going quiet again.

She could feel tears coming on, but willed herself not to cry right here, right now in front of everyone.

Kaldur watched the scene unfold, already plotting how he would deal with this once this mission was said and done.

Once they landed, everyone exited with Robin looking at his wrist computer to determine where the base entrance was.

“It’s right over that hill over there,” he said pointing.

And up out of that hill rose Red Tornado.

“Red… It’s really him…” Wally muttered.

Red didn’t say anything.

He only attacked them with a mass of whirlwinds.

M’gann flew above the winds, giving Red a pleading look.

“Red, please! Why are you doing this??”

Red didn’t respond.

He attacked with a barrage of tornadoes.

Though none seemed to hit M’gann.

She glanced down at the ground, gasping at what she saw.

_ Team, listen to me!  _ she pleaded.  _ I have a message from Red! _

With the message received, the Team set off to attack.

None of them were able to get close enough to knock him out.

“An excellent show, Tornado,” a fourth android - Red Volcano - praised. “However, you should know that I can predict your moves. And I knew about the message to your precious little meatbags.”

Red Tornado remained silent, but retreated either way.

“Red! Wait!” Wally called out.

“Shut up, idiot!” Artemis hissed.

“Red won’t betray us again. He’s not like that,” M’gann reassured, though no one was sure if she was saying it to herself or everyone else.

With newfound energy, the Team attacked Volcano, but nothing worked.

“I have the memories of my predecessors,” Volcano explained. “Including Red Tornado. I know exactly what you will try and pull.”

Strange, backwards words echoed through the air as a spell hit Volcano.

“But Red Tornado didn’t know me!” Zatanna shouted, a smirk on her lips.

Volcano’s eyes glowed a deeper red.

The volcano behind him began to rumble.

“Aqualad, what do we do?!” Wally asked desperately, turning to their leader.

“We will have to do our best to ensure he does not fulfill his plans.”

Wally swallowed, looking entirely unsure that they would win this battle.

“Are you seriously scared  _ now _ ?!” Robin yelled. “After all the shit you’ve gone through, this is what scares you?!”

“That’s not-”

“Whatever, just attack him before he destroys the world! Be a fucking hero!”

Wally flinched, finding it increasingly harder to swallow her sadness.

But she had to keep it in until the crisis was averted.

“Kid, stay close and assist!”

“R-Right…!”

No matter what they threw at Volcano, he was able to deflect or predict what they were doing.

Suddenly, a pillar of water hit Volcano straight on.

“Nice, Aqualad!” Robin called out.

“That was not my doing!” he called back, pointing to where Red Torpedo and Red Inferno were coming out of the base, Tornado not far behind.

Wally visibly relaxed at the sight of Red helping them, some of her fears going away.

They dragged him into the lava, Torpedo and Inferno starting to melt together with Volcano.

“Our father would be… very disappointed…” Volcano managed to get out as he set off stage three.

Superboy grabbed Red before he sunk too deep into the lava, hauling him out and carrying him to safety.

The volcano began to erupt, everyone wondering what the hell they were supposed to do.

“Red! I know you can hear me!” Wally called out as she ran over to Superboy and Red. “You need to vent the pressure from the eruption or it’ll set off a nuclear winter and humanity won’t survive!”

Robin and Artemis got to work with adding more vents.

Red nodded at Wally, flying into the air and creating a massive tornado, siphoning the ash cloud into space.

“Phew… Alright, buddy, let’s get you fixed up and back home,” she said, her adrenaline starting to wear off.

Red nodded again, leading them down into Morrow’s lab.

Robin and Wally silently worked together to turn his voice box back on, neither of them looking at each other.

“Are they okay?” Zatanna whispered to Kaldur.

“Kid is not. The treatment you saw today was not normal and is clearly weighing on her,” he whispered back.

“Thank you, Team,” Red said, his voice sounding a bit distorted at first, but fixing itself as he spoke more. “My siblings should be known as saviors of mankind.”

“You were never the mole, Red,” Kaldur said. “We are sorry that we doubted you.”

“I never did,” Wally whispered to Red with a small smile.

“Kiss ass,” Robin muttered.

Red did not miss the way Wally deflated at the comment, but did not speak on it yet.

“I had left to avoid any more attacks on the Team. And to find Morrow. It was never my intention to worry any of you.”

“So why did you volunteer to be our den mother if you thought we’d be in danger?” Superboy asked.

“I was the pragmatic choice as the only Justice League member with no second life.”

“Well, maybe you wanted to be more human and couldn’t do that around the League,” Robin suggested. “They’re not the most sociable bunch.”

“I do not know if that is accurate, but I must admit that I have come to care about you. All of you.”

“Aw, Red, I knew you cared,” Wally said softly.

“You’re practically a meatbag already, Red,” Superboy said with a smirk.

“Speaking of meatbags, I have something I must do before I return to Mount Justice.”

“I’ll fix you up, Red!” Wally said quickly, putting on a smile.

“With one arm? I don’t think so,” Robin said. “You’re not that good, KF.”

“But-”

“It is alright,” Red said. “Kid Flash will be more than sufficient in repairing me. I will return to Mount Justice with her.”

A few protesting mutters started, but Kaldur interrupted them before they could get too loud.

“Very well, Red. Please take good care of her as she is a valued member,” he said, putting emphasis on the end.

“She will be in good hands.”

Kaldur nodded, ushering the rest of the Team out of the base and toward the Bio-ship.

Once she was sure they were gone, she finally let the tears flow.

She whimpered and sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks as everything that had happened today caught up to her.

Red said nothing.

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close.

She gasped in surprise, but didn’t pull away.

She cried into his shoulder, clinging to him with one hand.

Once she had exhausted all of her tears, she sniffled and pulled away.

“Tell me what happened, Wally,” Red said.

She sniffled again and let out a teary giggle, a small smile on her lips.

“That’s the first time you’ve called me Wally, Red… Can you keep doing it?”

“I will call you by your name as many times as you like. Please tell me what the Team said to you.”

So she told him.

She told him all the mean comments about her being stupid and coming up with stupid ideas, about Robin snapping at her to not answer Zatanna’s question about her stealth tech, everything.

“I see,” he said after a small pause. “That is unfortunate and quite unlike the Team. Perhaps they were only trying to impress this Zatanna.”

“I know Rob was trying to impress her, but I don’t know how they didn’t realize they were hurting me… Kaldur was the only one and he’s probably chewing them out as we speak…”

She still looked upset.

Red reached out and placed a hand on her cheek.

“Who was it that figured out where I was?” he asked.

“...Me. My stupid idea was to ask Ivo where Morrow’s hideout was…”

“You are perhaps the most intelligent member of the Team. That is why you are the only one who can repair me quickly with only one hand. Do not let their comments about your ideas make you upset.”

She sniffled and gave a wobbly smile, leaning into his touch.

“I don’t care what anyone says, Red,” she said softly. “You’re more human than anyone I’ve ever known.”

“So, Z, besides being grounded, what are you up to after this?” Robin asked as they exited the Bio-ship in the hangar bay.

“It does not matter what Zatanna is up to,” Kaldur said sternly, his voice and gaze cold. “You will all explain to me your actions against Kid Flash today and you will explain  _ now _ .”

“What do you mean? This was just a normal day with KF, except we’ve got a new friend she  _ barely  _ interacted with.”

“Actually,” Zatanna said. “She did try. But she kept getting sad and quiet. Like when I asked her about her stealth tech and Robin interrupted her answer.”

“This was no normal day with Kid. I want explanations, and none of you will be leaving without one.”

Kaldur was pissed.

Everyone could see it and no one ever wanted to see it again.

“What is going on in here? Where have you kids been?” Canary asked, though she nearly stopped when she saw the scene before her. “Aqualad, what’s going on?”

“That is what I would like to know. My so-called Teammates have been nothing but needlessly cruel to Kid Flash and I want answers.”

“I hope she’s okay… She seemed so nice and so happy that Red Tornado was okay…”

“Red Tornado? What did you kids  _ do _ ?”

“We found and confirmed that Red Tornado was not the mole. He will be returning with Kid once he has been repaired. It should not be long now.”

“Zatanna, we are going home,” Zatara said sternly.

“But dad, I want to make sure Kid Flash makes it back okay! I’m worried about her!”

“Let her stay a bit longer, Zatara,” Canary said softly. “She’s bonded with these kids and just wants to ensure one of them is okay.”

Her voice turned hard as she directed her attention to the Team.

“Rest assured, your mentors will be hearing about your actions. One at a time, you will each tell me your reasoning behind your actions. While you wait for your turn, you will stay either in the Zeta tube room, the kitchen, or the living room and you will reflect on your actions and words. Kaldur’ahm, you are to ensure they do not leave.”

“Of course.”

An hour later, Wally walked into the main room, a completely repaired Red holding her hand and walking in with her.

“Thanks, Red…” she mumbled.

“I am here if you need me.”

She nodded, releasing his hand and watching him float off to find the rest of the Team.

“Kid Flash! You’re alright!”

Someone ran over and hugged Wally tightly, their cheeks pressed together.

“Z-Zatanna, what…?”

“I was so worried about you! The Team was being so mean and you were so upset and only Aqualad seemed to care!”

Wally made a small, embarrassed noise, gently pushing Zatanna back so there was some space between them.

But she let the magician keep her arms around her neck.

“I’m fine, I guess. I’m sorry if I worried you, Zatanna… And I’m sorry we didn’t really get a chance to talk and get to know each other…”

“Well, the rest of the Team is getting chewed out by Black Canary, so we can talk now, if you want!”

“Sure… You can call me Wally, by the way. My name is Wally West.”

“Zatanna Zatara! Good to meet you, Wally!”

Wally smiled.

A genuine one.

The first one she had all day.

“Good to meet you, too, Z.”


	29. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am on a creative streak send help

Sometimes it was normal for Wally to enter a quiet Mount Justice.

That either meant she was early or everyone was just not into training at the moment.

But this was something new.

And she did not like it one bit.

_ Recognized Kid Flash B03. _

As soon as her designation rang out through the computer, everything came to a screeching halt.

Conversations stopped and things turned eerily silent.

Her Teammates were just staring at her with unreadable expressions.

It was unnerving and creepy and she hated it.

“Uh… Good morning…?” she said, smiling nervously and raising a hand in greeting.

There was no reply.

At least, not from the ones in the room with her.

“Oh, good morning, Kid,” Kaldur greeted, raising his voice to be heard from the kitchen. “I could use your assistance in repairing my water bearers. They were damaged in our fight yesterday.”

“Uh yeah… sure…”

Ignoring her silent staring Teammates for now, she ran into the kitchen, letting out a sigh.

“What’s going on with our friends?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“I am not sure what part you are referring to.”

“Kaldur, they literally stopped what they were doing to stare at me silently when I got here! What the hell is going on?”

He sighed softly, setting down his water bearers.

“They were punished by their mentors for their actions against you yesterday.”

“That’s not my fault! I didn’t say anything to Canary!”

“I know. But I did. And so did Zatanna and Red. We were worried about you and their actions were not acceptable.”

Wally frowned, taking the water bearers and observing them for the damage.

“...Then maybe I should let them get their feelings out about it. One on one sparring matches where they can yell at me and I can yell back and we’ll all feel better after throwing a few punches.”

“Are you sure that is wise? You were so hurt by their words yesterday…”

“I’ll be fine since I’ll be retaliating this time. Where is the damage, Kaldur? I don’t see it…”

“I may have lied about the damage to get you into the kitchen.”

“You could have just asked. Any excuse to get out of there… Who’s overseeing our training for today?”

“Well… Robin has not been in a good mood since he found out who it was…”

Wally blinked, a bit stunned.

“Seriously?” she whispered loudly. “Batman is overseeing our training today? Is Canary out or something?”

“Black Canary is involved in a different mission,” came a deep voice from the doorway. “I will be watching over your combat training. Is that a problem?”

“No! Of course not!” she said quickly. “But I have a proposal for training today.”

“I heard what you said to Aqualad. If it will get the Team functioning as a unit again, you may proceed. What order do you want to spar with them?”

“Surprise me.”

“Very well. Get changed and be ready in five minutes. Aqualad, gather the Team.”

Kaldur nodded and stepped out to make sure everyone was in the area.

Wally turned to find a locker room but stopped when a black gloved hand touched her shoulder.

“Red Tornado told me what you said to him. That he was more human than anyone you knew.”

“Sometimes I think it’s true. Especially after yesterday. He was the only one besides Kaldur and Z to realize how upset I was and reassure me that I was a valued part of the Team.”

“I’m sure the Team seemed more like monsters to you…”

“I guess so, but I’ll get over it. I should go get changed.”

She ran off, returning just as quickly in her hero costume and waiting by the sparring circle.

“What’s this all about?” Robin asked Batman, frowning slightly. “Where’s Black Canary?”

“On a mission. Today you will all be facing off against Kid Flash. She has proposed a way to relieve some stress and tension by allowing you to spar with her.”

“But why?”

“If I may,” Kaldur said, stepping forward. “Kid knows you are frustrated with her after yesterday. She has proposed that while you spar with her, you may get your feelings out both verbally and physically. And she will do the same.”

“Well said, Aqualad. First up will be Miss Martian.”

M’gann floated into the circle, the ring lighting up as they got ready.

“Regular sparring rules apply. You may begin.”

M’gann’s eyes began to glow as she lifted Wally off the ground.

“Do you realize how much trouble I was in with Uncle J’onn?!”

“Do  _ you  _ realize how much you hurt me by not speaking up?!”

M’gann growled and dropped her to the ground.

Wally bounced back quickly, darting forward to throw a punch.

She backed M’gann out until she was out of the circle.

“Kid Flash wins.”

“I’m sorry I got you in trouble.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything.”

“Next is Superboy.”

“I don’t have any beef with her,” Superboy said, crossing his arms. “I should’ve said something and I didn’t. So I have to live with that. Canary and I already talked it out.”

Batman nodded, turning to his next victim.

“Artemis, then. You’re next.”

Artemis scoffed and stepped into the circle.

“I’m not apologizing,” she said.

“Okay,” Wally replied. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna yell at you. I have a lot to say.”

“Bring it, weirdo.”

Wally smirked and darted forward.

“Artemis is at a disadvantage,” Kaldur commented. “Kid has too much experience with archers.”

“Sparring with them or arguing with them?” Batman asked.

“Both. Red Arrow has said all of his attempts at conversing with her has ended in an argument.”

“You all asked for a stupid idea and then you complained that my so-called  _ stupid idea  _ was  _ stupid _ !!” Wally shouted, sweeping Artemis’s feet out from under her.

“Because it  _ was  _ stupid!”

“It worked, didn’t it?! I was right! Ivo knew exactly where Morrow’s base would be! It led us straight to Red!”

“Yeah and we nearly got killed trying to rescue him!”

“That comes with the job!” she screeched as she shoved Artemis to the ground.

“Ugh… Fine! You were right! Your idea wasn’t  _ that  _ stupid!”

Wally hummed and smirked, offering her a hand to help her up.

“I acknowledge your tough love mindset, but we need to set some boundaries. Calling me stupid is not okay, for starters.”

Artemis huffed and took her hand.

“Fine. We’ll talk after training.”

Wally nodded, her smirk fading into a smile.

Artemis gave a faint smile back and stepped out of the ring.

Without prompting, Robin stepped in to take her place.

Neither said a word as they stared each other down.

“You’re going to have to use your words, Rob.”

“Same goes for you, KF.”

For once, she didn’t make the first move, waiting patiently for him to attack her first.

“She’s learning and adapting well to Robin’s fighting style,” Batman commented. “How often do they spar in their free time?”

“At least once when we have the time,” Artemis said. “Sometimes Wally won’t use her powers to put them on a more even playing ground. Nothing but pure hand to hand combat.”

“Robin is also adapting to Kid’s fighting style,” Kaldur added. “Though I cannot help but notice that her fighting style is evolving into a combination of our styles.”

A loud thud drew their attention back to the fight.

Wally had thrown Robin across the ring, her teeth bared angrily.

“You implied that all of my ideas are stupid! Do you know how that feels, knowing your best friend thinks you only come up with the dumbest ideas of the entire team?!”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Robin shouted back, getting back to his feet.

“Maybe not, but it still hurt! And another thing! I know I’m the only one super super interested in science, okay?! But Zatanna asked me a question and I was going to answer it!”

Robin scowled and tried to punch her, but she caught his fist.

“How do you even know Zatanna would be interested in that?!”

“How would you know she  _ wouldn’t  _ be?! She asked me about my stealth tech!”

Wally shoved him away, glaring daggers.

“You were so wrapped up in trying to impress her that you nearly forgot to introduce me to her! I can’t believe Kaldur had to remind you to introduce your  _ best friend  _ to our new friend!”

“Yeah, that was my bad! But you usually introduce yourself to new people coming into Mount Justice! I thought that’s what you were doing when Kaldur helped you up!”

“I  _ was _ , but you were introducing everyone already!”

He tried to run out of her grasp, but she grabbed onto his cape.

“And yeah, I was scared while we were fighting Red Volcano! But I wasn’t scared  _ of  _ him! I was scared that my friends were going to get hurt and we would lose Red again! I was scared we would fail and be the ones responsible for the end of the world!”

She yanked him back and tossed him to the ground.

“Besides Kaldur, Red was the only one to try and comfort me! I thought maybe you’d realize what you were saying was hurting me, but you didn’t! I’m getting better with the teasing and everything, but you took it too far!”

He rolled onto his back to glare at her, but paused when he saw the tears in his eyes.

“You’re supposed to be my best friend… You’re the one who understands me better than anyone… So why would you do that to me…?”

“KF, I… I’m sorry… I was… I was being stupid. You know how teenage boys are… We’re stupid and don’t really think with our heads most of the time.”

“Yeah, well…” she mumbled, wiping her eyes. “I thought you were smarter than that…”

“Guess not, huh? C’mon, help me up and we can talk about your boundaries with Artemis.”

Wally hesitated for a moment before holding out her hand.

He gladly took her hand, hauling himself to his feet.

She helped him up…

And then promptly flipped him over her shoulder onto the ground again.

“That’s for being a terrible friend,” she said, helping him up again.

“And this,” she began, pulling him into a hug. “Is for admitting you were wrong…”

“I see Iris has been teaching you how to better convey your emotions…” he mumbled, hugging her back.

“I actually learned that from watching TV…”

Robin snorted and laughed a bit, pulling away from the hug.

“I expect nothing less from our resident weirdo. Did you finish fixing Kaldur’s water bearers?”

“They weren’t broken to begin with…”

“Leave it to Kaldur to make up a lie just to get someone in another room… Is training over?” he asked, turning to Batman.

“For now. Go ahead and talk about whatever you need to. After lunch, meet back here for intelligence training.”

“Artemis, let’s head to Jitters!”

“I’m going to get changed first,” Artemis said. “I think it would be weird to see three costumed heroes sitting around at Jitters having coffee.”

“Fair point. Let’s get changed and meet back in here in a couple minutes,” Robin said.

Wally let go of Robin, running off toward the locker rooms and returning within seconds, her backpack on her shoulders.

“You guys are so slow.”

“Not everyone has superspeed, weirdo,” Artemis said, rolling her eyes playfully. “Give us a few minutes, alright?”

Wally heaved a dramatic sigh.

“If you insist.”

Artemis rolled her eyes again, smirking as she walked off with Robin.

“Have you heard from Zatanna since yesterday?” M’gann asked.

“No, I think she’s actually grounded for a while,” Wally responded. “I don’t blame Zatara, honestly. We did kinda kidnap her and go off on our own.”

“Business as usual for the Team,” Batman said.

Wally could hear the tired undertone in his voice, the same one Barry and Iris always had whenever she told them she did something she wasn’t supposed to.

“We only go looking for trouble some of the time,” she retorted. “Most of the time, the trouble finds us.”

“Or some people run off on their own and fall into trouble,” Superboy teased lightly.

“Hey, it’s not my fault Rob kept disappearing on our first mission! You try keeping an eye on him!”

“You’re not much better. But at least you call out ‘Wait for me, Rob’ before you run off after him. How do you even know where he’s going?”

“Years of experience. It’s also how I figured out who Kaldur would pair off when we did that training exercise. The longer you know people, the more predictable they become in their decisions.”

“I did not realize I was that predictable,” Kaldur said. “How long did you have to prepare for the training?”

“We gave Kid Flash a week to prepare her coded messages and figure out her plan. The only part she did not decide was where to hide. The Hall of Justice was always the end point.”

“Not that I would’ve hidden anywhere else. I even did some meet and greets with fans and some autographs before I changed into civvies.”

“Pretty sure you have the most fans out of all of us, KF,” Robin said, a small smirk on his lips as he and Artemis returned.

“I do, actually. There’s forums online that track the popularity of upcoming young heroes. I’ve risen in the rankings recently.”

“Oh yeah? You can show me during lunch,” Robin teased. “You guys wanna come? I think we all need to set up boundaries.”

“Ensure you are all back before 1:30…” Batman said, walking off.

“Everyone ready to go?” Wally asked. “I haven’t had any coffee yet today…”

“Totally. Let’s get going already.”

“So what kind of boundaries are we setting up, exactly?” Superboy asked as they left Mount Justice.

“Emotional boundaries, my friend,” she said. “Emotional boundaries. Very important.”

“So, lay it on us, KF,” Robin said as they sat down with their food and drinks.

“Okay, so,” she started, taking a small sip of her coffee. “Unless my idea is actually proven to be stupid and terrible, do not call my ideas stupid. You don’t know how they’ll play out unless I explain it or we go through with it.”

“Fair enough. I crossed a line yesterday,” Artemis said. “Your idea sounded stupid, but… it got us what we wanted. And you had a point with it, anyway.”

“I don’t care if you, like, teasingly call me stupid sometimes. But only if it’s like an affectionate term. Like when Artie calls me ‘weirdo’, y’know? Weird nicknames are kinda cool…”

“And I definitely should not have tried so hard to impress Z by insulting you and degrading you,” Robin admitted. “That was so not chalant of me.”

Wally laughed and grinned slightly.

“I was kinda not feeling the aster, anyway. I think Z picked up on that…”

“I don’t think Z knows what aster is, y’know?”

“Guess we gotta teach her all about feeling the aster, whelmed, uh… what was the other one?”

“Traught.”

“Traught, right. We should keep up the unwords. I think I like them!”

“I’ll keep making them up and we’ll keep the ones that stick.”

Wally laughed again.

“So, anyone else have any boundaries that they wanna put out?” Robin asked.


	30. Disordered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic Attacks, Vomiting
> 
> It's near the end, after Wally stands up to protect Artemis and ends after Roy tells her to calm down, if you'd like to skip that part.

She didn’t remember much about what happened.

Not that she wanted to remember everything.

She did remember the speedforce keeping her calm afterwards.

She’s been in and out of speaking with the speedforce ever since it happened.

So what exactly happened, anyway?

There was a simulation, an exercise where they had known it wasn’t real.

At first.

Everything changed after she had sacrificed herself to save Artemis.

At least, that’s what she was told.

The speedforce told her everything that was happening in real time.

She was forced back into reality when the simulation was broken.

Robin and Kaldur were trying to talk to her, but she wasn’t listening.

Artemis wouldn’t look her in the eye.

She felt numb.

She had felt like this before.

The day she was rescued from her parents…

Why did this feeling have to come back now of all times?

Her friends needed her.

And she needed her friends.

“Hey, KF… KF… Wally…!”

Wally blinked slowly and raised her head to look at Robin.

“C’mon, snap out of it. Let’s get you home to Barry and Iris, alright? You know they’re fine, right?”

She nodded slowly.

“Good… Kaldur, are you coming with us?”

“I must stay here and ensure the others are going to be alright. Take her straight home. She will only need rest for tonight.”

“Right… Here, you can hold my hand…” he murmured softly, helping her off the table she was on and taking her hand, gently leading her toward the Zeta tubes.

She didn’t say a word as she was walked home.

Robin didn’t have much to say either.

When she didn’t make a move to open her front door, he reached out to knock.

She squeezed his hand, making him pause and look at her.

“...Don’t go…” she whispered softly.

“...I won’t. Bruce… probably doesn’t expect me to come home tonight anyway…”

He knocked on the door, waiting a few moments.

It opened to reveal Barry.

He was smiling, but Robin knew he received word of what had happened.

Everyone was putting on a mask.

“Hey, kids…” he said softly. “Come in and have something to eat… Robin, are you…?”

“Batman won’t mind. She doesn’t… want me to go…”

Barry nodded slightly, guiding them over to the dinner table.

Wally barely ate anything, but Barry didn’t comment on that.

“She keeps your sleeping bag in her closet,” Barry said as he walked them upstairs. “And there’s extra pillows and blankets in the hall closet if you need them.”

“Thanks, Barry… I’ll dig out my spare backpack from her closet, too.”

He nodded, giving him a small smile.

“Thanks for being here for her. I know how rough it was today for all of you.”

“It’s no trouble, Barry, really. We both need each other after today… Hey, KF, can you get my sleeping bag set up? I’ll be right there.”

She nodded and released his hand, disappearing into her room.

“...She hasn’t spoken since before the simulation,” Robin murmured. “It took Kaldur and I ten minutes to get her attention after the fact.”

“Give her time. Everyone reacts to trauma differently. With trauma this strong, she’ll most likely not be okay for a while… Just make sure you keep reassuring her that she has people she can turn to.”

“...Did he tell you what she did in the simulation?”

“She sacrificed herself for Artemis… I only have myself to blame for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“She looks up to me, to the Flash. And the Flash isn’t afraid to put himself in danger to save someone. I didn’t teach her otherwise… and sometimes she thinks with her heart rather than her head.”

Robin nodded.

“Her double edged mentality rears its ugly head again… Artemis wouldn’t even look at her…”

“I don’t blame her. Get some sleep, Robin. It’s late and I’m sure you’re both exhausted.”

“What about school tomorrow?”

“She’s taking a day off and staying with me at work. I’m not going to put her into school like… that. Not again. What about you? The timezone is different here.”

“I’ll give Batman a call and see what he has to say about it. Hopefully he won’t mind if I miss one day of school…”

Barry nodded, bidding him goodnight.

Robin let out a breath and stepped into Wally’s room.

She hadn’t set up the sleeping bag yet.

“KF, what happened? Where’s the sleeping bag?”

She parted her lips, but just as quickly closed them.

He nodded, grabbing one of her notebooks off of her desk and handing it to her.

She gave him a grateful look, scribbling a quick message on a blank page.

_ Can you just sleep in my bed with me? Just in case I have nightmares… _

“Y-Yeah, of course… Let me just get changed and then we can get some sleep, alright?”

She nodded, digging out some pajamas from her dresser.

A few minutes of getting changed later, the two got comfortable on Wally’s bed.

They were facing each other, Robin glad it was dark enough that she couldn’t see the blush on his face.

“G’night, KF… Barry says you're gonna skip school tomorrow to spend the day at work with him, so you’ve got that to look forward to.”

She gave a small nod, curling up and slightly and shifting a bit closer.

Hesitantly, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

That’s how Barry found them the next morning.

Cuddled up with each other and holding on tight.

“You don’t have to go back to Gotham, Robin,” Barry said as they sat down for breakfast. “The CCPD doesn’t care how many kids I have up in my lab most days… Not that I make it a habit to have a bunch of kids up there to begin with.”

“I haven’t gotten the word from Batman to come back yet, so… I guess I’ll come hang out with you and KF.”

“Sounds like a plan. Once we’re done with breakfast, we’ll make a Jitters run and then head on over to the CCPD. Wally, at least eat a little bit,” he said, smiling and nudging her plate toward her.

She scrunched her nose up slightly, but complied.

“Good to see her personality doesn’t disappear when she’s like this,” Robin commented. “Good ol’ KF…”

Once breakfast was finished, Barry took the kids with him to Jitters, ordering the fairly complex drinks they wanted.

“Are you sure this is what she drinks around you guys?” he asked as Robin easily rattled off Wally’s usual order.

“Yeah, definitely. No way I could forget. She’s been getting us all drinks since the Team was formed.”

“Aw, jeez… Don’t follow in my footsteps, kiddo,” Barry said, glancing at Wally. “Iris doesn’t want you to be a coffee addict like me.”

“Don’t worry, she only usually gets one coffee drink every time we hang out. After that, it’s time to be a hot chocolate addict.”

Barry snorted in amusement, handing Wally her coffee drink and ruffling her hair affectionately.

“Keep being you, kiddo. Don’t let anyone change you.”

She shook her head and waved his hand away, contently and quietly sipping her coffee.

“The last time you were in my lab was years ago, right?” he asked Robin.

“Yeah, I don’t make it a habit of hanging around police stations.”

“Understandable. They’re not the most fun places to be around, but don’t tell my boss I said that.”

Robin snorted and smirked, covering up a laugh behind his hand.

“Oh, look, it’s West!” someone whispered loudly from just up ahead.

A couple kids around Wally’s age hurried over, stopping the trio in their tracks.

“West, we got our tests back last week, but I never got the chance to show you! Look!” the girl said excitedly, holding up a math test for the redhead to see.

One the top corner of the page, an 89 was written in red ink with the phrase “Good Job!” written below it.

“My teacher was so impressed by how much I’ve improved! And it’s all thanks to you!”

Wally gave a small smile and clapped a bit.

“Are you not on your way to school? You’ve got your usual coffee and your uncle is here…” the boy said curiously.

“She’s not feeling too hot today,” Barry explained. “Since no one’s gonna be home, she’s spending the day with me so I can keep an eye on her. If you guys had a study session today, don’t, uh… don’t worry. She’ll pick them back up again when she’s feeling better.”

“Aw, but I have a science test coming up!” the girl complained.

“...Uh…” Wally said softly. “The study guides I gave you all…? That has everything I was going to go over anyway… My notes are all in there, too…”

“So if we use that, we should be fine?”

She nodded.

“I’ll be back in school soon, so… save your questions…”

“Aren’t you kids going to be late if you don’t get moving?” Barry asked, a small smile on his lips.

“Look at the time!” the boy said loudly. “We have to go!”

“Thanks, West! Thanks, Mr. Allen!” the girl called out as they hurried away.

Once they were gone, the trio started on their way again.

“Friends of yours, KF?”

“...Not really… I tutor them after school with a bunch of others…”

“Why don’t they call you Wally?” Barry asked, holding the door open for them.

She shrugged.

“...They were already calling me West, but I guess it stuck…”

“Well, if you’re okay with it…”

She nodded, following him up to his lab.

She immediately found a seat, setting her backpack and coffee down, pulling out some of her notebooks.

Robin took a seat next to her, watching as she just kept pulling art supplies out of her bag.

“...I think I’m with Artie on the whole pocket dimension in your backpack theory.”

She made a small sound but didn’t reply.

The lab was big enough that the two sidekicks could sit on one end of the room and Barry on the other, and neither side would be able to hear a conversation.

At least, as long as they weren’t shouting.

They sat in relative silence for a while, Wally quietly working on her notebooks and Robin watching her.

Suddenly, her eyes glazed over for a few moments, her hand stilling and the soft sound of a pen on paper stopping.

He blinked, glancing at her face.

“...KF? You good?”

She didn’t respond.

Before he could prompt her again, she blinked and the glazed over look disappeared.

But something was off about her…

“Do not make a scene, Robin,” she said softly.

He stared at her for a few moments.

That wasn’t how she usually spoke.

But then… who was this?

Unless…

“You crazy son of a bitch…” he whispered. “You figured out how to possess KF’s body.”

“Yes and we do not like that it was during her most vulnerable,” the speedforce-possessed Wally said.

“Well… what do you want? I mean, you don’t usually speak to the rest of us…”

She smiled at him.

“We had told you previously that we would speak with you at a later time, Robin. Now is that time.”

“Talk about what? About the tragedy you said you saw in her future?”

“Precisely. Oh, Wally West told us you were perceptive, Robin, but it is nice to see it for ourselves!”

“For an omniscient being, you sure do act a lot like KF…”

“We find her personality very intriguing. Plus, when you have been around for as long as we have, you take anything you can get. But that is not why we are here today, young Robin.”

“Right, right… the tragedy. Is it… like, a tragedy that happens to her or something tragic in her life that affects her?”

“Unfortunately, this tragedy happens to Wally West… We cannot go into details as that would cause you to try and change the inevitable.”

“So why talk to me about it at all if you can’t give me any details?”

She smiled again, this one warm and genuine and one he had seen her give him many times before.

“You are the one person she cares about the most. We feel it is an obligation that we tell you about her fate ahead of time. As we said, we cannot give too many details, but we can tell you enough.”

“...Okay… Okay, alright. Lay it on me.”

She nodded, shifting slightly so she was now facing him.

“What will happen to Wally West is not so different from what you witnessed yesterday in the simulation.”

“...Wha-”

“She has been and always will be a hero until the end of her days. 2016 will be the year Wally West’s tragedy strikes. She will answer the call in June.”

“So you’re trying to tell me that KF actually dies in six years?” he asked, keeping his tone hushed so Barry didn’t hear.

“We did not say she will die. We simply said it will be a tragedy. The actions she takes in the future will not result in death, but she will not be of this world.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“We cannot say. That is all we can tell you. We suggest you do not inform Wally West of her fate. She will not remember what has just transpired this day.”

“Why wipe her memory of you possessing her right now? What do you gain from that?”

“We gain the knowledge that we have not traumatized her further. She need not know of her fate or she will try to prevent it.”

“But what if-”

“Robin, all we ask of you is that you keep this information in mind and take care of Wally West. You mean a lot more to her than you currently know. She will not be alright for quite a while, but will pretend she is. You will need to tell her it is alright to cry and let out her feelings. Do you understand?”

“I-” Robin started to protest, but the intensity in her eyes silenced them before any could leave his mouth. “Yes, I understand. But… what do you mean that I mean more to her than I know?”

She smiled widely and placed both hands on his cheeks.

“She will tell you when she is ready. But perhaps you will read the signs before she gets the words out.”

“Wha-”

“We have run out of time,” she said quickly, dropping her hands and resuming the position Wally had been in before she had become possessed. “We will be in contact again, Robin. Expect us.”

“Wait, why me?” he asked.

She didn’t reply, eyes glazing over again before she blinked.

And Wally was back.

She frowned in confusion at having made no progress in the last few minutes, mentally chalking it up to having zoned out.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she noticed Robin’s bewildered expression and tilted her head slightly.

“I-I’m good, I swear. Just… thinking.”

She gave him a strange look - as if she knew he was lying - but she remained silent on the matter.

Barry glanced over at them, having noticed that Robin had been talking quietly to Wally.

It wouldn’t have been that strange… if she hadn’t been talking back.

Just what was going on over there?

He didn’t have time to dwell on it long as his phone went off.

He read the message quickly, letting out a small relieved sigh.

“Hey, kids!” he called out. “In a few days when Canary gets back, the Team’s gonna go through counseling sessions.”

“Got it, thanks Barry!” Robin called back. “Hear that, KF? Maybe talking with Canary will help clear your head a bit.”

She nodded, going back to working on her notebook.

“...Can I work on one, too?”

She nodded again, taking out his notebook and handing it to him along with her most recent Batman one.

He flipped them both open to the most recent entries, grabbing a few pens and getting to work.

A few days passed and this found the Team waiting silently for their turn with Black Canary.

Greetings were given when each member arrived, but no one seemed to want to talk about anything, least of all Wally who seemed even quieter than before.

She was sitting at the island in the kitchen, slumped over the counter with her face hidden in her arms.

Whatever had happened after Robin left the first day had clearly brought her down more.

“This is stupid!” Superboy shouted as he stormed out of the counseling room, breaking the silence.

Wally didn’t move.

Artemis kept glancing over at her, wondering if she was asleep or just not bothering to react to anything.

Canary sighed softly as she watched Superboy go, turning to the rest of the Team.

“Artemis…” she said softly, motioning for her to follow.

Before she left the room, Kaldur touched her arm.

“You should try and talk with Kid when you are done.”

Artemis nodded, turning to follow Canary.

Robin edged closer to Wally until he was sitting right next to her, laying his head down beside hers and watching her carefully.

She hardly noticed he had moved closer.

Or she had and didn’t react.

They sat like that for what felt like forever, the only indicator of time passing being Artemis returning and switching out with Kaldur.

She took the seat on Wally’s other side, mimicking Robin as she laid her head down.

“...How is she?” she asked, her voice a bit raspy.

“No idea. Pretty bad, if I’m gonna guess. But she was doing better the day after it happened…”

“You think something else happened that’s making her all… depressed?”

“Yeah, I can’t even begin to imagine what it was…”

Kaldur soon returned, placing his hand on Wally’s head.

“It is your turn, Kid. Canary is willing to be patient with you.”

Wally sighed heavily as she sat up straight, eyes blank as she hopped off the chair and trudging over to the counseling room.

“Good evening, Wally,” Canary greeted softly, guiding her over to a chair. “How are you feeling after everything?”

She offered only a silent shrug, sitting down and slumping as much as she could.

“I see… From what Kaldur and Artemis said, you aren’t quite up to verbal communication today, so…” she said, handing her a blank notepad. “Here you are.”

Wally took the notepad, but made no move to write on it just yet.

“Let’s start with your thoughts on what happened. After your actions, what was your first thought?”

Wally looked up at her, the two staring at each other for a few moments.

She parted her lips.

Canary waited patiently to see what she would say.

“...I don’t wanna die…” she rasped.

“I know, honey. But you’re okay. None of it was real.”

She shook her head, clutching the notepad tightly.

“No? What part are you saying ‘no’ to?”

She quickly wrote something down.

Everything she was about to write would definitely not be going into the Team notebook.

_ I’m not okay. _

“...Alright, honey. What’s going on?”

_ My parents _

Canary narrowed her eyes slightly at the two words.

This wasn’t good.

“What about your parents? Did they talk to you?”

She nodded quickly.

_ They invited themselves over for dinner tonight to talk about custody stuff. _

Canary sighed, trying to keep her composure.

Oliver and Batman would be hearing about this, if they haven’t already.

“Why did Barry and Iris let them do that?”

_ Uncle Barry’s not happy about it and neither is Aunt Iris, but she was kinda forced into it I guess. _

“When did this happen? Have you told anyone else?”

_ A couple days after the training exercise. I haven’t told anyone yet, but I was gonna tell the B-Man and Red and you. _

“I’m glad you trust me enough with this information, Wally. Rest assured, Ollie will also be hearing about this. What about the Team?”

_ What about them? _

“I know for a fact that Barry and Iris wouldn’t mind some more uninvited guests to dinner tonight. I’ll even contact Red Arrow for you and see if he’s available.”

Wally looked flustered, tapping the pen on the notepad a few times as if she was stuttering and trying to find the right words.

_ I don’t want to bother them _

“Wally, they’re your friends. And besides, Kaldur and Robin have already been wrapped up in your problems. They won’t mind a little more.”

She pouted slightly, but nodded.

“Good girl. I’m proud of you for not keeping this bottled up until after it’s all over. I don’t think there’s anything else I need to go over with you. Do you have anything you want to say to me?” Canary asked, getting to her feet.

Wally thought for a moment, nodding slightly and stood up.

She hugged Canary tightly, pressing her face into her shoulder.

Canary smiled and hugged her back.

“I’m only a phone call away if you need to talk. Can you send Robin in?”

Wally nodded, handing her the notepad.

“Oh, she’s back! That was pretty quick!” Robin said as she reentered the kitchen.

“I don’t think there’s a lot to talk about with someone who won’t speak…” Artemis muttered.

“...I can speak, thanks…” Wally mumbled.

She was met with shock and surprise.

“Rob, you’re up…” she said, ignoring the looks she was getting. “Has anyone seen Batman and Red? I need to talk with them.”

Kaldur shook himself out of it first, nudging Robin so he would do the same.

“I believe they are somewhere near the hangar bay, Kid. Would you like me to accompany you there?”

“No…” she mumbled, pausing before speaking again. “Actually yes. You’re the Team leader. You can hear what I have to tell them.”

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Artemis asked.

“I’ll tell you after I tell Red and Batman.”

“Fair enough, I guess… I’ll wait here, then.”

Wally nodded, taking Kaldur’s hand and following him toward the hangar bay.

“Kid Flash, Aqualad,” Batman greeted. “Are you both finished with your counseling sessions?”

“Yes, but Kid had something to talk to you and Red about.”

“What’s the problem?”

“I do not know if it is a prob-”

“My parents are coming over for dinner tonight to discuss custody stuff with Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris,” Wally said, cutting Kaldur off. “Canary already knows and she’s contacting Roy for me. I thought you both would like to know.”

“This is a less than desirable situation,” Red said. “What shall we do about this?”

“Aqualad, this is an emergency mission for the Team,” Batman said. “You will all accompany Kid Flash to dinner tonight, along with Red Arrow, and ensure her safety through the night. Superboy should be returning with a clear head soon enough. Once he has finished his counseling session, you will all go to dinner. I will inform the Flash about the number of guests.”

“And how do you know Red Arrow will agree to accompany us on our mission?” Kaldur asked.

“From what I have observed,” Red said. “Red Arrow will agree to the mission because Kid Flash is in danger.”

“Even if he does not join the mission, the rest of you will be more than enough. Inform your Team of their new mission. And tell them I will not be taking ‘No’ for an answer.”

“Yessir,” Kaldur said. “Come along, Kid. We should not keep everyone waiting.”

She nodded, taking his hand again and following him back into the kitchen.

“What’s the word?” Artemis asked.

“Word about what?” Robin mumbled, looking exhausted.

“Kid’s parents are having dinner at her home tonight. Our official Team mission is to accompany her and ensure her safety.”

“Her parents are what?!” Robin said loudly. “Why?!”

“Custody reasons, apparently.”

“So we have dinner with her awesome aunt and uncle and her garbage parents?” Artemis asked. “And we have to make sure they don’t steal her?”

“Precisely. Once Superboy returns and we have all gone through our counseling sessions, we will go to Central.”

“Four years and  _ now  _ they want to contest Barry and Iris’s custody of her…” Robin grumbled, clenching his hand into a fist.

“...Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris are just being polite by having them over…” she said. “I doubt they’re actually interested in hearing what they have to say…”

“And I doubt they will be pleased to see Robin and myself tonight, seeing as we had a hand in your liberation.”

“...They weren’t too happy to see me actually enjoying life, so join the club…”

It wasn’t long until the entire Team was back together again, heading into Central City.

“Superboy already had a run in with my parents, but… I don’t want to make a scene inside my own home, alright? Take it outside if it gets violent…”

“Do you really think we’d resort to violence first, KF? You of so little faith…”

“You looked like you wanted to punch them as soon as Kaldur said something…”

“Can you really blame me, though?”

“Not really… Have you heard if Roy’s coming?” she asked Kaldur.

“I have not received any word on the matter.”

She hummed and looked ahead, a small smirk forming on her lips.

“I don’t think we need to wait for anything…”

Roy was already waiting for them at the corner, pushing off of the street sign he was leaning on to greet them.

“Walls, I cannot believe your parents are back,” he said. “What the hell?”

“Mood, honestly…” she mumbled, hugging him tight. “Thanks for coming…”

“Redheads have to stick together, right?” he said, hugging her back.

“Yeah… Redheads always stick together…”

“Come on,” he said, pulling away from the hug. “Let’s get this dinner over with and make sure they never bother you again.”

She swallowed and nodded, hesitantly stepping away from him to lead the way home.

She didn’t even need to knock on the door.

Barry was already there to greet, a small smile forming on his lips as he realized who she had brought with her.

“Hey, kiddo… Come on, bring your friends inside. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but we can get everyone at the table. Iris did the seating chart.”

“We never have a seating chart…” Wally mumbled softly as she stepped inside.

“It’s better this way, kiddo, just go along with it,” Barry whispered.

She made a sound of dismay at the sight of her parents, falling back a bit to get in between Kaldur and Robin.

She was seated at the table, Kaldur and Robin on each side.

Roy and Artemis were next to each other, with Roy sitting next to Wally’s mother - Mary.

M’gann was supposed to sit next to Rudy, but Superboy took that spot before she could, leaving her to sit on the corner in between Iris and Superboy.

And that left Barry at the other end of the table, Robin and Artemis at his left and right respectively.

Dinner went by in near silence, only adding to the uncomfortable atmosphere that permeated the room.

“So, uh… Why don’t you introduce your friends, kiddo?” Barry offered, obviously just as uncomfortable as his niece and trying to make conversation.

“Uh… There’s Kaldur a-and Robin and… and Roy and…” she mumbled, her voice getting quieter and quieter as she spoke.

“You have to speak up, honey…” Iris said, smiling slightly. “Project your voice.”

“Just as quiet and shy as the last time I saw her,” Rudy commented.

Robin frowned.

“She’s not quiet  _ or  _ shy. She’s nervous, and for good reason. What do you want with her?”

Of course, everyone at the table already knew.

But they didn’t need to know that.

“She’s our daughter and we want custody of her again.”

Wally shrunk down in her seat, averting her eyes and avoiding any conversation by drinking.

“What if she doesn’t want to live with you?” Superboy asked.

“That’s not her decision to make-”

“She’s fifteen, more than old enough to stand up for herself in court,” Roy said, speaking over him.

“And she is her own person with her own opinions,” Kaldur added. “Her opinion on the matter is the most important, as this pertains specifically to her.”

“She’s not mentally stable enough to have a good opinion on these kinds of things!”

Wally winced at that, her grip tightening on her cup.

“She has opinions!” Artemis said loudly, getting more and more pissed with each word that came out of his mouth. “In fact, she has opinions on a lot of things! Even weird things, like the worst multiple of three!”

“...It’s 27…” Wally mumbled under her breath.

“See?! She’s not a basket case! She’s healing from the damage  _ you’ve  _ done to her! It’s your fault she’s not normal, but we love her all the same! None of us are normal, functioning human beings and that’s fine!”

“How dare you speak to me like that!” Rudy shouted, getting to his feet.

In the blink of an eye, he was shoved away from the table and onto the floor in the kitchen.

All eyes turned to Superboy at first, but he hadn’t moved.

He didn’t even have the chance.

Wally was standing between her father and Artemis, her glass broken and scattered on the floor near her chair, a few bits of glass stuck in her hand.

She didn’t seem to be feeling any pain as she kept a physical barrier between Artemis and any harm.

“I won’t let you hurt my friends the same way you hurt me…”

“You little brat-”

“No! Get out! I never want to see either of you again! Do you realize how fucked up you’ve made me?! I didn’t even know what a birthday party was until a few years ago! How fucked up is it that I had my first birthday party at 12 years old?! It’s all your fault! Everything is your fault!” she yelled, her voice getting louder and higher as she spoke.

Everyone stared at her in shock as she screamed and yelled and cried, letting out all of her feelings about her parents in one go.

“The first time I made a friend was when I was 11! And he wasn’t even my age! Until recently, I didn’t know how to interact with people my age, but the Team has helped me! Artemis is so cool and Conner is the best and Kaldur and Robin and M’gann are the absolute best friends I could ask for! But because of  _ you _ I still don’t understand a lot about… anything! Everything! You fucked up a perfectly good child and have the balls to come back and try to get custody of me? I don’t fucking think so! There’s my fucking opinion on this! Get out!”

When her parents didn’t move, Superboy finally got to his feet.

He glared down at Rudy.

“I believe she asked you to leave,” was all he said.

The underlying threat in his tone was enough to get them moving.

Wally didn’t move from her spot, even as the door slammed shut.

Artemis hesitantly reached out, placing a hand on her arm.

“Hey… Are you okay?”

Wally coughed and gagged, doubling over and throwing up on the floor.

She was still crying and sobbing, though no one knew if she was having a panic attack or not.

“Hey, hey…!” Roy said, immediately at her side and guiding her to sit on the floor at least. “Deep breaths, speed racer… Relax, alright? It’s all over…”

“Yeah, it’s alright now…” Artemis said, kneeling beside her and pulling her into a hug. “It’s alright…”

Wally sobbed, pressing her face into Artemis’s shoulder as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

“At least she finally calmed down,” Artemis mumbled softly, gently running her fingers through Wally’s hair.

She was seated on the couch, Wally’s head on her lap and the rest of the speedster’s body draped over Robin and Kaldur’s laps.

“That was a lot, honestly, and I wasn’t expecting her to do something like that,” Robin admitted. “I’m not surprised she had a panic attack of that degree.”

“It certainly has been a while since she’s had an attack like that. But she will feel much better afterwards. Getting her feelings out about her parents will be cathartic.”

“She doesn’t need those assholes anyway,” she said, glancing over at where Barry and Iris were talking quietly to each other in the kitchen. “She’s got some pretty great parents right here…”


	31. Misplaced

“Kid Flash, you cannot help with these crates,” Red Tornado said for what seemed like the hundredth time that hour.

“Why not?? Canary said I need strength training!”

“Your arm is still healing.”

She pouted, but accepted defeat… for now.

_ Recognized Artemis B07, Zatanna A03 _

“Artie, tell Red to let me help!” she called out, hurrying over to greet her friends.

“No, your arm is still broken. Stop trying to break it more.”

“It’s almost healed!”

“Almost is not completely healed. Relax and come hang out with Z.”

“Ugh, fine! Z, are you joining the Team yet?” Wally asked, a small pout on her lips.

“Unfortunately, no. Our last outing together kinda put a bad taste in my father’s mouth… He won’t let me join.”

“He’s super overprotective. How old are you, Z?”

“Fourteen. But he treats me like a kid still.”

“Jeez… Uncle Barry doesn’t even treat me like a little kid anymore.”

“I know, and it’s so frustrating! Can’t he see that-”

A loud crash cut her off, all three girls turning to see the crates scattered on the ground.

And no adults around.

“...Red?!”

“Where the hell did they go?!” Artemis asked. “It’s like they just…”

“Disappeared…” Zatanna finished.

Robin came running into the room, skidding to a stop when he saw that his mentor was missing.

“Shit… There’s been reports of adults just vanishing all over Happy Harbor!” he said.

Wally snapped immediately into hero mode, pulling her goggles out of her pocket and taking off her hoodie to reveal her costume.

“I’ll go gather any children left behind in the city. Find someplace safe to keep them until we figure out how to fix this. I’ll take SB and Miss M with me.”

“I’ll come too,” Artemis said. “Someone needs to watch all those kids while you three are out finding more.”

“Z and I will stay back and keep an eye on any social media reports on the situation. Keep your comms on, KF. I’ll be in touch.”

“I’ll let you know where we’re keeping the kids and any updates we may have.”

“What about Aqualad?” Zatanna asked.

“He’s our leader, right? He can make sure things run smoothly,” Wally said. “I’ll go get SB and Miss M ready to go out. Artemis, meet us by the Zeta tubes.”

She turned to walk out of the room, pulling something out of one of her pockets.

She tried calling Barry and Iris, her worry increasing when neither of them picked up.

They never ignored her calls.

Did they disappear too?

“Hey, stop thinking too loud.”

She jumped, looking up to see that she had nearly run into Conner.

“S-Sorry… All the adults have gone missing in Happy Harbor… and probably everywhere else, too.”

“We’ll figure it out. What’s the plan?”

“You, me, M’gann and Artemis are going to go out and set up a refugee camp for any abandoned kids in the city. Z and Rob are gonna work on figuring out a solution, and Kaldur’s gonna do his best to ensure this all runs smoothly. Get ready to go and meet us by the Zeta tubes.”

Once the group of heroes was ready, they rushed into the streets of Happy Harbor.

“Artemis, can you get into the high school? We might be able to use that as a refugee camp,” Wally said over the comms.

_ “Had to pick a few locks, but I got in. I’m setting up in the gymnasium and raiding the kitchen for any snacks and drinks for the kids.” _

“Sketchy, but I guess it works. SB, Miss M, take any kids you grab to Happy Harbor High. I’ll keep checking the empty houses in my section.”

_ “Copy that.” _

Wally let out a breath, stopping for just a moment to refuel.

She was certainly doing the quickest work, having cleared out more sections than Conner and M’gann combined, but she couldn’t help but think she had missed something.

Frowning slightly, she backtracked and zipped in and out of the houses she had just checked.

As she was double checking one of the houses, she heard a noise come from one of the closets.

Cautiously, she stepped forward, opening the door and spotting a little redheaded girl curled up inside.

She blinked, offering a small smile as she knelt down.

“Hey, what’re you doing in here all by yourself? Did your parents disappear too?” she asked softly.

The little girl nodded, staring up at her with wide eyes.

“B-But I don’t really mind that Mama and Papa are gone… That means no one’s gonna hurt me now…”

Wally paused, her smile fading a bit.

“...Your parents hurt you?” she asked quietly.

The girl nodded.

“Mine did too.”

“Did they disappear too?” the little girl asked.

“Kinda. I live with my aunt and uncle now. And I can make sure that once this is all over, you don’t have to go back to your parents, okay? Me and a few other heroes have a safe place set up until this all blows over.”

The girl stared at her, as if trying to determine if she was lying or not.

“...Okay…” she finally whispered. “I believe you, Kid Flash…”

Wally smiled widely, carefully picking her up and holding her close as she got to her feet.

“Alright, hold on tight, okay? I’m gonna run super fast to get us to the safe place.”

She nodded, clinging tightly to her costume.

“My sections are clear,” she said as she arrived in the gymnasium.

Instantly, she was swarmed by fascinated kids.

“Are you really Kid Flash?”

“The one and only.”

“So cool!”

“Is Superboy your friend?”

“Sure is! Can you guys let me through? I need to talk to my friends real quick.”

She carefully stepped around the swarm of kids, though they still followed her over to where Artemis was sitting.

“Hey, I finished up. Any word from the others?”

“Not yet. Robin and Zatanna are still gathering info, and Aqualad’s been quiet since there’s nothing to report,” Artemis said.

“You know Robin and Aqualad, too?” the little girl in Wally’s arms said.

“Yeah, totally! They’re my best friends! And this is Artemis!”

“Making new friends in the field, I see,” Artemis teased lightly. “It’s nice to meet you, sweetie. What’s your name?”

“...Harper…”

“Harper, huh? That’s a pretty name. Are you hungry? Thirsty? We’ve got snacks if you’d like some.”

Harper nodded, Wally setting her down near Artemis.

“Can I get one, too?” Wally asked, yelping when Artemis threw a pack of fruit snacks into her face. “Jeez, so violent…”

“What’s your game plan now?”

“I’m gonna check on the kids and then head back to check in with Rob and the others. I’ll also be around to check in on Harper every now and then.”

“Why this specific kid?”

“Because she’s in the same situation I was in before. I’m gonna make sure she doesn’t end up like me…”

Artemis nodded her understanding.

“I’ll keep an eye on her while you’re out and about. Just try not to overwork yourself, alright? We don’t need you passing out on us on top of everything else.”

“That’s why I asked for a snack! I’m also gonna steal any off of Rob, since I know he carries them. I’ll be back in a bit.”

She ran off, darting around the gym and chatting with a few of the younger kids.

She was even given a sippy cup by a little boy.

“Robin, I’m on my way back,” she said over the comms. “We’ve got all the kids in Happy Harbor in the high school.”

_ “Nice. I’ll meet you at the Zeta tubes. Artie warned me that you were gonna raid my snack pouch.” _

“Ugh, dammit, Artemis!”

Robin laughed over the comms.

“...Do you have any snacks, though?”

_ “Of course I do. She also told me you’ve been running around working yourself to death.” _

“I’m the only one who can get to each place within seconds,” she said, the Zeta tube announcing her arrival. “Besides, I’m feeling fine for now. Any luck with figuring out what happened?”

“Not quite. Z’s working on a locator spell to try and find the adults. Meanwhile, Kaldur wants us to broadcast across the world and let all the kids around the world know what we’re doing and to remain calm.”

“Sounds good. I’m gonna stock up before we do anything, though.”

“Don’t overwork yourself, KF. Take some time to relax for a bit.”

“I’ll try, but I’ve got a lot on my hands. Checking in with SB and everyone, checking in with the kids, checking in with one kid in particular, checking in with Artemis… running back and forth to keep everyone updated and keep my mind off the fact that I straight up do not care that my parents have disappeared even though I told them off the last time I saw them before promptly having the worst panic attack I’ve ever had.”

Robin stared at her for a few moments.

“...Okay, you need to definitely chill out for a few minutes. Kaldur’s in the living room. Tell him to make you a proper meal so you’re not surviving on snacks all night.”

“Aw, but I wanna help you and Z!”

“Is that Wally?” Zatanna called out, hurrying over. “Oh, jeez, you look terrible. Come on, let’s all take a small break and make you something to eat.”

“But-”

“No buts! You need to take care of yourself even while you’re helping others! Let us take care of some things and then we’ll get you back in the field.”

“She’s right, KF,” Robin agreed, helping Zatanna push her into the kitchen. “You just sit and relax and tell me about this specific kid you’re keeping an eye on.”

Wally groaned, but stopped fighting them as they sat her down in the kitchen.

“Kaldur, can you come help prepare a meal for Wally?” Zatanna called out. “She’s been working overtime!”

“Kid, we have talked about this!” Kaldur called back from the living room, his voice getting closer as he walked in.

“I’m the only one capable of going back and forth at high speeds! It’s not my fault!”

“Yes, and when was the last time you have had a proper meal today?” Kaldur asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Aw, you’re doing the whole mom friend thing again! Complete with a disappointed dad voice!”

“You have forced my hand, Kid. If your actions continue, I will have to keep using the voice.”

“Ack! No, please, have mercy!”

“You will have no mercy if you do not take care of yourself.”

Zatanna giggled and smiled widely, watching the interaction go down.

“You guys are so funny sometimes! Come on, let’s cook up something good! Wally, you’re not allergic to anything, right?”

“KF has zero allergies. She’ll eat just about anything.”

“I figured, but I thought I would ask before I made anything.”

“So,” Robin said, sitting next to her. “Tell me about this kid you like so much.”

“Her name is Harper. She’s like me. Well, she’s in the same situation I was in, so… once this is all over, I’m gonna work with the League and local law enforcement to get her out of that house.”

“And what’re you going to do if you can’t?”

She hummed and glanced over at him.

“Guess I’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen. By the way, I just realized how insanely popular I am with children. I could barely walk without nearly tripping over a little kid.”

“Kids like speedy heroes. What can you do?”

“They like you guys, too. Except for Z, since she hasn’t made her debut yet. They all seemed surprised that I was friends with you and Kaldur. And Superboy. I think Superboy has some new fans too.”

“Good for him. I knew he’d get some fans eventually. What’s with the sippy cup, though?”

“Oh, this is a souvenir, I guess. The little boy who gave it to me insisted I keep it.”

“Not the strangest souvenir we’ve ever gotten.”

The four sidekicks chatted idly as they cooked and had a meal together, Wally offering to run some over to the other half of their Team.

Once she returned from her quick trip, they did a quick broadcast around the world to urge kids to protect each other until they figured out what to do.

“Perhaps we should call upon Doctor Fate,” Kaldur said quietly as he and Wally discussed options.

“That’s too dangerous, Kaldur. Nabu might have given up our bodies twice, but a third time is pushing it. He’s going to get agitated and just refuse to give one of us up.”

“But he may be our only hope if we are to defeat whoever is casting this incredible amount of magic.”

Wally shook her head, making her stance clear.

“While I agree with you, it’s still too high of a risk. We can’t possibly be that desperate yet.”

Kaldur sighed softly, nodding his agreement.

“Very well. We are not that desperate to use Doctor Fate.”

“Hey guys! I’m ready to use that locator spell!” Zatanna said.

“Oh, good. Maybe we’ll finally get an answer as to who is behind this.”

Zatanna used the spell, revealing their destination to be Roanoke.

“Alright, now that we’ve got our destination, we should-” Robin began to say, but was interrupted by a dark haired kid suddenly appearing in the middle of their conversation.

“...Uh, how did he get in here?” Wally asked. “The Zeta tubes didn’t go off…”

“Who even is this kid?” Robin retorted.

“Oh, good! The Team is here!” the kid said. “I’m Billy Batson, but you all know me as Captain Marvel!”

The Team’s disbelief was heavy in the air.

“...Yeah, I don’t think so…”

The Zeta tubes actually went off this time, revealing the other half of the Team.

“If you guys are here, who’s watching the kids?” Wally asked.

“Some of the older kids offered to watch them for us,” Conner said. “Apparently, we inspired them to take charge until everything is fixed. Who’s the kid?”

“No clue. He claims to be Captain Marvel.”

“Miss Martian, if you would,” Kaldur said.

M’gann nodded, her eyes beginning to glow as she read Billy’s mind.

“...His memories do show him as Captain Marvel, but…” she said, sounding unsure.

“Alright, I know what’ll convince you,” Billy said, smiling widely. “I know that all of you were mad at Aqualad because he kept a secret from you all. He didn’t tell you there might have been a mole in your ranks.  _ And  _ I know that Kid Flash has a crush on-”

“Okay! I think I believe you now!” Wally said quickly, cutting him off before he revealed her secret crush. “I believe that you’re Captain Marvel! Just stop talking!”

“I thought you didn’t know what a crush was!” Robin said.

“I figured it out! Let’s move on!”

“So, if he’s Captain Marvel… and Captain Marvel is an adult…” Artemis said. “Then we should be able to send messages across the split dimensions, right? Using him as our messenger?”

“That could work. We need to relay what intel we have to our mentors either way and formulate a plan.”

“Okay, cool! I can do that!” Billy said. “Tell me what’s up and I’ll pass it along!”

So they did.

With Captain Marvel acting as their relay, they managed to get the location of the magic users to their mentors and formulate a plan of attack to merge the two dimensions back together.

With their plan made, the Team made their way to Roanoke, easily finding their target due to the giant glowing circle of magic.

“The gem in the middle is what’s keeping the dimensions apart,” Zatanna whispered. “If both sides can get it out of there, we can merge back together and get everyone home.”

“Alright, if we can distract Klarion for long enough, I can grab the gem,” Wally whispered back. “Maybe we can go after his familiar, Teekl…”

“We’ll just have to wing it for now,” Robin whispered, readying a few batarangs. “Let’s move.”

So, the Team attacked.

And they were easily beat back by Klarion.

An entire Team of seven was beat back by one magic user.

And with no other option left to them, Zatanna summoned the Helmet of Fate.

“Z, no!” Wally shouted.

“Be quiet, child of the speedforce,” Nabu said. “I am necessary to defeat Klarion.”

Wally let out a frustrated noise, darting toward the center of the circle as soon as Klarion’s force field was destroyed.

She snatched up the gem and ran to the safety of her friends, watching as Zatanna - now possessed by Nabu - recited a spell.

And then suddenly, the adults that had disappeared from Mount Justice were in the same area as the Team again.

With the other sorcerers apprehended, the only problem was Nabu still possessing Zatanna’s body.

“Nabu, you need to let Z go,” Wally pleaded. “She’s not the right vessel!”

“That is exactly what Kent Nelson said before I released him into the afterlife.”

“You did what?!”

“The world needs Doctor Fate now more than ever with Klarion the Witch Boy running wild.”

“Please,” Zatara said, stepping forward. “Take my body instead. I am physically stronger and much more adept at magic than my daughter.”

“Do you swear on your life that you will put on the Helmet once I release this girl?”

“I swear. Anything to protect my daughter.”

Nabu nodded, floating to the ground and taking off the Helmet.

Zatara hugged Zatanna close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“I do love you very much, Zatanna. Do not ever forget that,” he said softly, glancing up at the rest of the Team. “And you… the Team… Please, take care of my daughter for me.”

He pulled away, taking the Helmet from her and raising it up to put it on.

“Please, dad! There has to be another way! Don’t do this!” Zatanna pleaded, tears in her eyes.

Her protests fell on deaf ears as Zatara put on the Helmet and became Doctor Fate.

The trip back to Mount Justice was quiet, no one saying a word in fear of bringing up the wrong thing.

“...I have to go take care of something,” Wally said to Batman. “But I could use the League’s help.”

“What do you have to do?” he asked.

“When I was going around collecting kids to bring back to the refugee camp we set up, I came across this girl. Harper. She, uh… she’s being abused by her parents, just like I was… I want to make sure she doesn’t go back to them.”

Batman nodded, taking in just how exhausted she looked and the way her body was trembling slightly.

Robin had informed him that Kid Flash was working harder than anyone else today due to the incident.

“I will contact the Flash and have him help out with this. You hit the showers and take some time to relax. It will do you no good to overwork yourself.”

“But I-”

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Wally. Go home and have a good meal before you get some sleep. The Flash and I can take care of your mission from here.”

She looked like she was going to protest again, but thought better of it.

“Alright… I’ll change and go home…”

“Good. I’ll have the Flash give you updates on the situation, if it will put your mind at ease regarding this girl.”

“Yeah, I’d like that…”

He nodded, dismissing her.

She sighed as she quickly showered and changed back into her civvies, spotting Zatanna coming around the corner.

“Oh, Z… I was about to head back to Central… Do you wanna join me? I mean, I’m sure Aunt Iris won’t mind. She’s used to me bringing back unexpected guests all the time.”

Zatanna sniffled softly, still looking teary eyed from earlier.

“S-Sure… I’d like that…”


	32. Coldhearted

For once, Wally was up before her alarm.

Excitedly, she hurried over to the window, grinning at the sight of snow on the ground.

With her cast finally gone and the prospect of having no school today, she was more than ready to have the

“Best 16th birthday ever!!”

Both Iris and Barry were already gone by the time she got dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast.

No surprise, they were probably trying to get to work before the snow got too bad.

But Iris had left her instructions on how to reheat her breakfast.

And who was to stop her from putting as much whipped cream and syrup on her pancakes as possible?

She turned on the TV as she ate, perking up when she saw that Iris was already on.

_ “As you can see, today on November 11th, it’s snowing! A rare sight indeed for Central City this time of year. And certainly a welcome surprise for my niece, Wally, on her 16th birthday this morning.” _

Wally grinned at that, swinging her feet happily.

_ “Onto school closures, it seems every school in the city is closed. Including Central City High.” _

“Yes!! No school on my birthday!!”

Her phone went off with texts from all of her friends, as if they had all sent them at the same time.

**[7:20] Rob:** _ happy birthday, KF! finally 16! _

**[7:20] Kaldur:** _ Happy Birthday, Kid. Enjoy your day. _

**[7:20] Artie:** _ happy birthday, weirdo. _

**[7:20] Megan:** _ Happy Birthday, Wally!! _

**[7:20] Con:** _ happy birthday _

**[7:20] Z:** _ Happy Birthday, Wally! It’s not everyday someone turns 16! _

Her mood was just going up and up with each passing minute.

**[7:30] Uncle B:** _ Happy Birthday, kiddo! Sorry we couldn’t be there when you woke up, but we’ll see each other after I’m done work! _

**[7:30] Wally:** _ No worries, Uncle Barry! I’ll just spend some time wandering around Central like usual! _

So that’s exactly what she did.

She got a free drink at Jitters (even though she insisted that she’d pay for her overly complex drink) and even free admission to the museums.

Though she wasn’t too keen on visiting them multiple times as she almost slipped and fell on the icy steps.

As she was carefully leaving the Flash museum, her phone went off.

She glanced at the time to see it was almost 4 in the afternoon.

And Robin was calling her.

“Hey, what’s up, Rob?”

_ “Besides our resident speedster turning 16? Not much. How’s your birthday been so far?” _

“Not bad, not bad. No school today because of the snow and I got free Jitters and free museum admissions.”

_ “Nice. So, you haven’t seen us at all today, so why don’t you come by for a visit?” _

“I might just do that. Let me get changed real quick, though. And grab my backpack. I’ve been wandering around without it all day.”

_ “How unlike you. Tell you what. I’ll come pick you up at your house and we’ll go back to Mount Justice together?” _

“Sounds good! If I don’t answer the door, you can just let yourself in.”

_ “Might just do that. See you soon, birthday girl.” _

“Yeah, see you soon.”

She felt a little lighter, knowing Robin was coming all this way just to walk with her to Mount Justice.

“Alright, Walls, chill out…” she mumbled to herself as she tried on outfit after outfit. “It’s just Rob. Don’t freak out over what you’re wearing too much… He doesn’t care that much…”

“Yo, KF!” Robin called from downstairs. “You almost ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’ll be down in a few!” she called back, finally settling on a warmer outfit, making sure to pack her costume and extra thermal shirts to wear under it in her backpack.

“Alright, I’m ready!” she said, smiling as she came to a stop a bit away from Robin.

“Looking toasty, KF. Wish I brought my heavier jacket when I came over.”

“Isn’t it colder in Gotham since it’s further north?” she asked, taking his hand and making sure to lock the door behind them.

“Yeah, but I’m so used to it being warm here.”

“Fair enough. This is actually the coldest it’s been in a long time in Central.”

“Makes sense. It doesn’t usually snow this time of year here.”

She giggled and shook her head slightly, pulling her beanie down slightly to cover a bit more of her forehead.

“I usually run hot, but only when I’m running.”

“Is your suit built to help with the cold?”

“Yes and no. To a degree, it’ll keep me warm, but I can wear thermals under it to make sure I stay warm. I packed some extras just in case.”

“And hey! If we get a mission today, we’ll get to try out our new polar stealth tech for real!”

“True! But, I think I still stick out like a sore thumb in the white… Maybe I need a hood or something…”

Robin snorted and laughed.

“Or a closed cowl like the Flash.”

“Eugh, no. I hate having my hair confined like that.”

“And a hood would just fly off your head with how fast you run. Looks like you just have to suffer with the fact that you have red hair.”

“Truly a blessing and a curse…”

He laughed again, leading her to the nearest Zeta tube and finding it didn’t work.

“Huh… It worked earlier when I was coming here…”

“Guess I’ll have to run us over. Hang on tight!”

She scooped him up in her arms, grinning and taking off toward Mount Justice.

“...It’s so oddly quiet today…” she mumbled.

“Sleepy snow day. What can we say? C’mon, I think I left everyone in the living room.”

“Kaldur’s having a sleepy day? Do you think he gets cold easily?”

“Maybe. But Atlantis is also super deep in the ocean where it’s cold, so maybe not.”

“Guess that makes sense. Why’d you guys turn out the lights?”

“You’ll see, KF.”

“...Why do you all insist on making me suspicious every year on my birthday?”

“Cause we like to watch you try and figure out what we’re up to.”

“I can never guess, too. You’re all too good actors.”

“Comes with the job, KF. Ready?”

“For what?”

The lights clicked on, the entire Team, Barry, and even Red Tornado jumping out to surprise her.

“Surprise!!”

“Oh, shit… I should’ve known something was up when Rob didn’t bother me to come hang out sooner…”

“I thought the coordinated birthday texts would tip you off,” Robin said, leading her further into the room.

“I did think that was weird. Did you have Uncle Barry in on it? Cause he texted me 10 minutes after…”

“Barry!”

“Sorry, I was actually working!” Barry said, defending himself. “At least I remembered to text her! Not that I would forget, kiddo.”

“Even if you did, I would’ve seen you at home eventually. No big deal.”

“We made you two cakes!” M’gann said excitedly. “One that we all helped make, and one that just your Uncle Barry and I made!”

“I was in charge of decorating the Team cake,” Robin said proudly. “You’re gonna love it.”

“Oh, yeah?” Wally asked, smirking slightly as she sat down on the couch.

“Totally! Z, bring it out!”

Zatanna smiled slightly as she walked into the living room, a cake in her hands.

She presented it proudly to Wally, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

“Only the best for the birthday girl,” she said, voice strained as she tried her best not to burst out laughing.

Written on the top of the cake in icing were the words  _ Happy b-day World’s Okayest Speedster _ with a really poorly drawn Kid Flash underneath it.

There was a small pause as Wally processed what she was seeing.

She suddenly burst out laughing, doubling over a bit and letting out a wheezing “World’s Okayest Speedster” in between giggles.

“Told you she’d like it,” Robin said to Kaldur. “And I told you it was hilarious.”

“I should not have doubted you. But I think my art of Kid also got to her.”

“Oh my god it’s terrible! I love it!” she wheezed, still laughing. “Oh, but I’m so gonna get you both back for this on your birthdays!”

“I’d like to see you top World’s Okayest Speedster, KF,” Robin teased. “Have some cake and relax, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah…” she said, calming down after her laughing fit. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Cake was cut and everyone sat around chatting with each other while they ate.

“Z, I’m telling you, cake makes people feel better,” Wally said, handing her another slice.

“Yeah, Z,” Robin agreed. “Pretty sure it’s scientifically proven that sugar makes you feel better.”

“Definitely is. That’s why I bring hot chocolate around whenever I can.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” Zatanna mumbled, taking a bite of her cake.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from the main room, calling for the Team.

_ “Attention, Team. Suit up in your polar stealth tech and form up here for your mission brief.” _

“Woo! Birthday mission!” Wally cheered as she ran off to get changed.

“Lucky,” Robin said. “Birthday missions are always the best.”

Once everyone was changed into their polar tech, they met back up at the main room, standing in front of a projection of Batman.

_ “Five mysterious ice fortresses have appeared in the skies. This is the cause of the extreme and early winter weather we have been experiencing today. We’re going to destroy them.” _

“Why not use the Watchtower to blow them out of the sky?” Wally asked.

“Watchtower? What’s that?” Zatanna asked.

Batman glared at Wally through the screen.

“Oops, said too much…”

_ “That wouldn’t work anyway, Kid Flash. The Watchtower has no weapons systems. Because two of Earth’s green lanterns are off-world, the Team will be teaming up with the League to help take them down.” _

“Aw, and a League birthday mission? KF’s getting it all today.”

_ “You have all been assigned one of the fortresses and will meet with the League members already there. Robin and Aqualad, you will take the first fortress. Superboy and Wolf will help with the second fortress. Artemis, Miss Martian and Zatanna will go after the third. Other Leaguers will deal with the last two.” _

It took a moment to process, but Wally realized that someone had been left out of that list.

“Hey, what about me? I didn’t hear my name get assigned anywhere,” she said, stepping forward.

_ “We have another mission specific to your skill set, Kid Flash.” _

She perked up slightly, a grin coming to her face.

_ “You will be delivering a donor heart that a desperately ill young girl needs. You’ll be taking it 3,000 miles cross-country from Boston to Seattle. Normally, we would transport it through the air, but air traffic is impossible with the snow.” _

Her grin faded slightly.

“Zeta tubes are down, too, KF,” Robin said apologetically. “You’re really the only one who can do this.”

“But, the Flash is-”

_ “The Flash is preoccupied with the ice fortresses. You are the only hero who can do this.” _

She let out a breath, already knowing that arguing wasn’t going to work.

“Alright. Where’s the starting coordinates and ending coordinates?”

_ “We’ll send the coordinates and your specific route directly to your wrist computer. For now, everyone deploy to your respective locations.” _

Everyone else scrambled to get into a vehicle, leaving Wally alone in the main room.

Her wrist computer beeped to alert her to the incoming coordinates.

_ “Kid Flash,”  _ Batman said, drawing her attention again.  _ “Your mission is more important than anything we’re doing out there today. Remember that.” _

“...I will.”

_ “As you run across the country, law enforcement will help you by clearing your route. You shouldn’t have to worry about any obstacles. If you finish your mission and we still need assistance, you may come help.” _

“Got it.”

She hurried out of the still open hangar door, following the coordinates to Boston General Hospital and skidding to a stop just outside of it.

“Kid Flash! Fantastic!” one of the doctors - Mattie Harcourt - said, sounding relieved as she immediately started putting a specialized container onto Wally’s back. “Keep this heart safe, do you hear me? It’s insulated against basic shocks in this medical backpack, but abrupt movement needs to be avoided.”

“No worries, I’m a smooth runner.”

“Good. You have four hours before that heart is no longer viable for transplant.”

Wally nodded, setting a timer on her wrist computer and running off to deliver the heart.

As she ran, she kept checking in on his Teammates through the Watchtower feed - Robin had helped her hack into it so they could keep up to date on anything the League was doing.

She saw Robin and Kaldur fighting alongside their mentors… and the Flash.

“There’s definitely someone missing from that picture…” she grumbled, checking her route instead to see how far she had gotten. “Only in Chicago… Still got a ways to go…”

She looked up, noticing a pile-up just in front of her.

There was no way she’d be able to find a good path through without jostling the heart too much.

“A little detour shouldn’t hurt…” she mumbled under her breath, taking the first exit she saw.

Unfortunately for her and her stomach, it was right in the middle of a street of fast food stores.

“Stay strong, Walls. You’ve got plenty of snacks in your compartments…”

Finally making it back onto the highway, she checked the time as she passed by a state sign.

“Alright. Two hours and fourteen minutes, and I’m in South Dakota… I can make it with some time to spare.”

She kept running, spotting a fight just on the side of the road and turning slightly to check.

“Vandal Savage? What’s he doing out here?” she said to no one in particular, hurrying over and cannonballing into him.

“Run! Get out of here!” she urged the state troopers that Savage had been attacking.

Savage grabbed her hair, causing her to yelp in pain.

A few swift kicks to the stomach and head were enough to get him to let go.

“I was hoping for the Flash himself. We’re due for a reckoning. But I suppose killing his sidekick would be just fine instead.”

“I don’t think so. You’d have to catch me first.”

She tried canonballing him again, but to no avail.

“New strategy… Let’s see… Oh! The snow!”

She smirked as she ran circles around Savage, a memory of their first trip to the Hall of Justice coming to mind.

With Savage having no idea where she was, she easily hit him from behind.

Her wrist computer beeped, alerting her that there were only two hours left.

“Shit… I can’t stay here…”

She ran off, abandoning the fight while Savage was still recovering from the hit.

“Phew… I can’t believe I wasted fifteen minutes on that guy… But I should be able to get to Seattle in plenty of time! Just can’t stop for a break yet and pretend I’m not super cold right now…”

She paused in thought for a moment as she ran, groaning loudly.

“Great, and now I’m talking to myself. This is what happens when you send Kid Flash on a solo mission… Rob’s never gonna let me hear the end of this…”

She was running out of time as she approached Seattle.

So she tried to pick up the speed a bit, pushing herself to the limit as she finally saw the hospital just up ahead.

“I’m here!” she panted, coming to a stop in front of what looked like a doctor. “I’m here…”

“Kid Flash… I’m sorry, but… you were too late.”

“...What…?” she said, horror clear on her face.

“Yes, you were twelve minutes too late. I’m so sorry. I’ll take the heart to find a new recipient while it’s still okay. You can rest in the lobby.”

She nodded mutely, not even questioning him as she trudged inside.

She took a seat in the lobby area, running her hands down her face and sighing heavily as she tried not to cry.

“Kid Flash?” a voice said softly from in front of her.

She looked up to see a different doctor, his name tag saying ‘Dr. Pieter Cross’.

And behind him were two surgeons.

“Where is the heart for the Queen?”

“Queen?” she asked. “Are they giving the heart to a queen because the little girl died?”

Dr. Cross looked just as confused as she felt.

“The Queen is this little girl. She is Queen Perdita of Vlatava, but time is ticking and we need the heart.”

“But I gave it to-”

She stopped, spotting the ‘doctor’ she had given the heart to entering an elevator.

Narrowing her eyes, she got to her feet.

“I’ve been had. Don’t worry doc, I’ll get that heart to you.”

She easily found the stairs, running down them and into the parking garage.

She rammed into the henchman’s side, grabbing the heart out of the air and ducking behind a few cars to avoid the gunfire.

The stairs were blocked, so her only option was the car ramp.

“This is a trap this is a trap this is a trap…” she mumbled to herself as she ran toward the car ramp, groaning and falling to her knees.

She looked up and saw Count Vertigo, a smirk on his lips.

So that’s what this was all about.

Vertigo was after the throne and was trying to kill his niece.

“Vertigo…” she grumbled, raising her head with a small wince. “I thought you were arrested with the rest of the Injustice League…”

“My diplomatic immunity makes it impossible for me to be arrested.”

“Ah, so you’re just a bastard abusing your power…”

He scoffed, unsheathing his cane sword and preparing to deal the final blow.

“Enough of this. I will have the throne!”

“I don’t think so, you son of a bitch!”

She slid the medical backpack under a car, using her legs to knock Vertigo over.

Acting quickly, she took out the henchman, cannonballing Vertigo and destroying his headgear.

Collecting the heart, she ran up the car ramp and smashed through the Emergency Room’s sliding doors.

With no more energy to spare, she collapsed at Dr. Cross’s feet, the medical backpack in her hands.

She opened her eyes to see a very smug Count Vertigo standing above her in a hospital room.

“Kid Flash. Your efforts were in vain. I am now King Vertigo of Vlatava.”

“...What happened to Perdita?” she asked, glaring at him. “What did you do?”

“I cannot take any credit for this, however,” he continued. “Both of our efforts were futile, as my dear niece died on the operating table. So I cannot be blamed for regicide.”

She smirked, sitting up and grabbing the partition curtain next to her bed.

“I wouldn’t celebrate just yet, asshole,” she said, pulling the curtain aside to reveal Perdita.

Alive and well and very pissed off.

And surrounded by two security guards.

Vertigo let out a shout, unsheathing his sword and lunging at Perdita.

But Wally was faster, grabbing an IV pole and disarming him.

The guards overpowered Vertigo, looking to Wally for instruction.

“Take him to Belle Reve. I’m sure he’ll make some good friends there,” she said, her smirk still present.

“You’ve outplayed me, Kid Flash,” Vertigo said, glaring at her. “Impressive. However, you both have only won the round, not the war.”

He was dragged out of the room, Wally letting out a breath and turning to Perdita.

“Sorry to drag you into all this, your Highness. Here, Vertigo’s sword,” she said, handing the blade over.

“Thank you for saving me and coming up with that plan, Kid Flash. I am in your debt.”

She laughed a bit and waved her hand dismissively.

“I came up with it after waking up and learning you were in recovery and everything went well! Doesn’t hurt that I have some connections to a news outlet to trick him into thinking you were really dead!”

Perdita smiled at her, looking down at the sword.

“This was never Vertigo’s. Did you know? It is a family heirloom of Vlatava. But I would like you to have it as a reward or… souvenir. If I remember correctly, you like to collect those, yes?”

Wally blinked in surprise, then smiled softly and shook her head.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I have a different souvenir I want to take along with me. You keep your family heirloom, okay? I should head back home before my family and friends start to worry!”

“Safe travels, Kid Flash. I do hope we meet again in the future.”

“Yeah, me too! You rest up and then get back to ruling Vlatava!”

They shared a smile before Wally turned and left the hospital.

But not before asking Dr. Cross for a quick favor.

“Congrats, KF,” Robin said, smiling as he leaned against the doorway to the souvenir room. “Not only did you save Queen Perdita, but her country too.”

Wally smiled softly, placing the medical backpack in the spot the Helmet of Fate once inhabited.

“Yeah, well, I’m glad I got that mission! Besides, I think I got a better birthday gift than anything else I could’ve gotten.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Perdita’s smile! Seeing her happy that I helped was all I needed.”

“That’s sweet of you,” Robin said. “C’mon, we’ve still got some time left to keep celebrating your birthday. It’s not midnight yet!”

“Do we still have some cake left over? I’m starving!”


	33. Of Birthdays and Surprises

“Hey, Z, Kaldur said it’s my turn to hang out with you,” Wally said, peeking into her room.

Zatanna giggled and looked up from her conversation with Robin.

Robin huffed and pouted.

“Kaldur did not say that.”

“You’re right, but I wanna hang out with Z and have girl time. So leave.”

“Alright, jeez! Pushy…”

Wally stuck her tongue out at him as he left, closing the door behind her as she stepped inside.

Once she was sure Robin wasn’t eavesdropping, she hopped onto the bed next to Zatanna.

“So, Rob’s birthday is coming up and I was wondering if you wanted to do a joint gift.”

“Sure. What did you have in mind?”

“I’m so glad you asked! See, I was thinking that maybe we could somehow steal his costume so I can upgrade parts of it. Do you know anything about that kind of stuff?”

“Stealing or upgrading?”

Wally thought for a moment.

“Both.”

“I might have a few skills in those areas. How soon do you want to steal his costume?”

“The sooner I get it, the sooner we can return it.”

“Okay, next question. How soon is ‘coming up’ for his birthday?”

“...Tomorrow?”

“Are you usually a last minute gift person?”

“Most of the time, yeah.”

Zatanna hummed at that, tilting her head in thought.

“Well, does he usually keep it here when he comes around?”

“Pretty sure it’s in one of the locker rooms.”

“So one of us distracts him while the other makes off with his costume. The one who stole the costume starts working on the upgrades and then we switch off so he doesn’t get too suspicious.”

“That sounds like a halfway decent plan. Who’s gonna take first distraction duty?”

“Well, you probably know what you want to upgrade, so I’ll go first. Just, like, leave a note when you’re done to let me know what needs to be worked on.”

“Good deal. I think he’s hanging out with Kaldur and the others now. If you wanna let them in on our plan, go ahead. They might be able to help.”

“Got it.”

They both left the room, Wally heading toward the locker rooms and Zatanna heading toward the living room.

Thankfully, her guess about where Robin would be was right.

He wasn’t lurking near any of the locker rooms or training rooms, so he must have been with the others.

She ran through each room, opening lockers until she finally found what she was looking for.

“Alright… Let’s find a good place to hide away and work on this…”

“Kid Flash, what are you doing with Robin’s costume?” a robotic voice said from behind her.

“Birthday present, Red! Z and I are gonna upgrade it for him! You wouldn’t happen to know any place we could work on it in secret, would you?”

Red paused for a moment, seeming to process the question.

“Perhaps you and Zatanna can use the equipment in my personal quarters.”

“Cool! Would it be easy for us to get in and out of when we switch places?”

“Yes, provided Robin does not go looking for whoever is missing.”

“Fair enough. Lead the way, Red!”

She smiled as she followed Red into his personal quarters, looking around with awe.

“Woah… So, you have, like, tools and stuff I can use?”

“Naturally. I keep anything that could be used to repair me up here. Feel free to use whatever you need, as long as you return it to its place.”

“I’m always neat and tidy with workstations.”

“Debatable. Be careful, Kid Flash. I do not want to hear that you hurt yourself.”

“Got it, Red.”

He nodded, leaving her to her work.

She started working on upgrading his wrist computer so it had better range and a way to track their Teammates should something happen to them.

She also worked on trying to toughen up his chest and arm armor for better protection.

She sighed after a bit, texting Zatanna to let her know she wanted to switch out.

She nodded, heading down and easily switching places with her.

“Hey, Rob. Miss me?” Wally asked, smiling as she squeezed her way in between him and Kaldur.

“I thought you wanted time with Z. She was just here,” he said, moving over slightly to make room for her.

“We talked about what we needed to and then went our separate ways. She’s helping me with mischief.”

“Oh no, I’m being replaced as your partner in crime.”

“She’s a little under qualified right now to be my partner in crime. I think we’ll both have to help her out if she’s gonna be up to the task.”

Robin snorted in amusement, laughing softly.

“Guess so.”

“So what’re you planning on doing for your birthday tomorrow, Rob? A whole 14 years old…”

“Probably spend the day here and then go celebrate back home. M’gann already said she’s planning a party.”

“Cool, cool. I’ll try to be here as early as I can.”

“Which means you’ll sleep past your alarm and rush here in a panic because you overslept.”

“I’m not gonna oversleep!”

“Guess we’ll see tomorrow,” he said, leaning back. “Have you heard anything about that girl you rescued during the split dimensions incident?”

“Yeah, actually! She’s living with her grandparents now and she apparently keeps sending me letters through Aunt Iris’s station since she sees me all the time on that channel… I’ve got so many and I usually try to respond, but it’s a lot.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a fan for life,” Artemis said. “She wouldn’t stop talking about you every time you left the gym.”

“Uncle Barry had to practically tear her from my arms. I really didn’t wanna let go, but he made me go home and sleep.”

“Well, you were running around doing pretty much everything that day. I’m surprised you didn’t collapse during our battle.”

“I waited until I got home.”

“Meaning she waited until she got inside her front door and then collapsed in front of Iris,” Robin said, smirking slightly.

“How do you even know stuff like that??”

“I didn’t. But you just confirmed it for me.”

She whined a bit and shoved him slightly.

He laughed and shoved her back.

“Hey, what did I miss?” Zatanna asked as she walked into the room.

“Rob’s being mean again!”

“I am not!”

“Here they go again…” Artemis said, rolling her eyes with a fond little smile on her lips. “And you’ve had to deal with this for 5 years, Kaldur?”

“It is not as bad as it seems.”

“Yeah,” Wally said. “Kaldur can be an instigator if he wants to.”

“There’s no way Kaldur’s an instigator.”

“Pretty sure he was the one to start the food fight when we first started,” Conner said.

“And he teased Robin about that time he choked on his black coffee in Jitters!” M’gann added.

“And he went along with our plan to invade Cadmus before all of that,” Robin said. “Kaldur’s not as cool headed as you might think. He definitely has a mischievous side to him.”

“I believe that is a part of being a teenager. Though, one of us does need to step up and be the mom friend every now and then.”

“Being the oldest must be rough. Can’t relate,” Wally said.

“That’s cause you’re like the middle child who gets everything she wants,” Robin said. “Well, mostly everything. I know Barry and Iris dote on you like there’s no tomorrow.”

“Who else are they gonna spoil, huh??”

“So you admit you’re spoiled.”

“No, I’m not!”

Robin laughed again, patting her on the arm and smiling widely.

“I’m just messin’ with you, KF!”

She pouted, sticking her tongue out at him.

“I’m glad I met you guys,” Zatanna said, finding a free seat. “You’re all so much fun!”

“You’re a ton of fun, too, Z,” Wally said. “Not many people go along with my schemes.”

“I think it’s fun to get into trouble every now and then! And Red doesn’t seem to mind too much.”

“He is, unfortunately, used to our shenanigans. As mentioned before, we made a mess of the kitchen on our first day.”

“A mess you totally started,” Robin added. “KF and I were only having a friendly competition before you threw flour at us.”

“Yeah, totally,” Wally agreed, nodding her head. “SB was a witness.”

“Well, I know it wasn’t you and Robin,” Conner said. “And M’gann was still cooking, so… Kaldur was the only culprit.”

“I have the right to remain silent on the matter.”

“Kaldur’s just as much of a troublemaker as the rest of us,” Wally teased.

Zatanna giggled a bit.

“So I have to ask,” she said. “Who came up with the nicknames? Like, I know Robin came up with Z for me, but what about the others?”

“I usually come up with them,” Robin said. “KF just adopts them and uses them whenever she wants. But she did come up with Artie for Artemis. That’s a good one.”

“I would say it’s a terrible nickname, but there’s not much you can do with my name,” Artemis agreed. “Besides, it’s not that bad.”

“I might start calling SB Kon, though,” Wally said. “I think it sounds cool and I don’t use his name often enough.”

“Kon sounds pretty cool…” Conner mumbled.

“Right? Totally cool.”

There was a small moment of silence.

“So… Anyone wanna come to Jitters with me and get drinks?” Wally asked.

“I’ll go!” Robin and Zatanna said together.

“Mischief trio trip!”

“Do not get into too much mischief,” Kaldur said.

“Zero promises! Let’s go!”

“How many drinks should we get?” Zatanna asked as they stepped into Jitters.

“We’re getting seven plus some hot chocolate,” Robin explained. “Also, don’t bother trying to order anything. KF likes to guess.”

“She likes to guess what people like to drink?”

“Yep. And she’s never been totally wrong before. Only slightly off. Like the first drink she got for Artemis! It was close, but Artie said it needed sugar.”

“Ooh, that’s super close…”

“I know. She’s scary good at it. We should probably go help her carry them before she drops something.”

“Oh, jeez… Wally, let me help!” Zatanna said, hurrying forward and taking a few cups from her. “You should really ask for help… This is a lot for one person to carry.”

“One day I’m gonna figure out how to do it myself,” she protested.

“I think there’s a difference between independence and stubbornness, KF…”

“Stubbornness is a West family trait.”

“And here I thought you adopted it from everyone else around you.”

Wally stuck her tongue out at Robin, smirking when he did the same.

The group of friends hung out for the rest of the day, Wally calling it quits when she was summoned home by her aunt and uncle.

“Looks like I gotta bail. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, I just gotta grab my backpack.”

“Catch ya later, KF. Don’t be late tomorrow.”

“I won’t! Watch, I’ll be here early!”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

She stuck her tongue out again before running off deeper into Mount Justice.

She grabbed her backpack, checking to make sure Robin’s costume was still folded neatly inside before leaving and heading home.

“I’m home! And I stole Robin’s costume!”

“It’s always something new with you, kiddo,” Barry said. “Why did you steal his costume?”

“Z and I are collaborating on upgrading it so he has better protection. I’m surprised Batman let’s him out of the house with so little padding on this thing!”

“How’d you get Zatanna in on your plan?”

“I asked her. She’s all for causing some mischief every now and then.”

“Another partner in crime for you, I see. Well, if you need any help, don’t be afraid to ask. Iris has to work late, so I ordered us some Big Belly Burger.”

“Sweet! Actually, I could use your help! You know more about making armor lightweight, but durable than I do.”

“We’ll work while we eat. Show me what you need.”

Come the next morning, Wally woke up before her alarm.

She hurriedly got dressed and wrapped Robin’s present in a box, storing it in her backpack before running downstairs.

She locked the door behind her, grabbing coffee and a breakfast sandwich from Jitters before using the nearest Zeta tube to get into Mount Justice.

“Oh! You weren’t kidding when you said you’d be here early!” Zatanna said. “Did you finish the gift?”

“Uncle Barry helped me out last night, so it’s all done.”

“Nice. Are you gonna make another Jitters trip later?” she asked, gesturing to the drink in Wally’s hand.

“In a bit, yeah. I just needed a little pick-me-up after I woke up. I think once Artemis gets here, we can go on a coffee trip.”

“Sounds like a plan! C’mon, M’gann might need help putting the decorations up.”

“What? Is Kon’s height not enough?” she teased lightly.

“He’s tall, but not very fast. We could use someone with superspeed to put all the streamers up on the wall.”

“You’re giving me the easy job, Z!”

Wally set down her things by the couch, cracking her knuckles before grabbing the box of streamers and leaving her side for a second, reappearing with an empty box.

“Ta-da! One freshly decorated room!”

“How do you have so much energy in the morning?” Conner asked.

“Coffee and the knowledge that I proved Rob wrong this morning. Where’s Kaldur? Is he here yet?”

“Not yet,” M’gann said. “He might not be here until a little later. But Artemis should be here soon! She’s bringing more party supplies!”

“Once she gets here, though, I’m gonna steal her and Z to make a Jitters trip before Rob gets here.”

“Stocking up early on hot chocolate, I see,” Conner said. “You’re really trying to prove you’re reliable.”

“That’s because I am! I just… like to sleep in sometimes…”

“That sounds like normal teenager stuff,” Zatanna said. “I bet your aunt and uncle just sometimes let you sleep when you’re really tired.”

“Yeah, but since I have school during the week, I usually end up as a zombie…”

“I guess not everyone is as adapted to night work as Robin and Batman.”

_ Recognized Artemis B07 _

“Artemis! Come to Jitters with me and Z!” Wally called out, running into the main room to meet her.

“I’m here for less than 30 seconds and you’re already in my face. Back it up, weirdo,” Artemis said, walking around her. “And let me set down these party supplies before we go.”

“Put some pep in your step, then!”

“I’m gonna go slower now that you said that.”

Wally gasped, looking a bit offended.

“Rude!”

Artemis laughed, disappearing into the living room and returning with Zatanna a few minutes later.

“Alright, let’s go, weirdo. Don’t know why you’re so impatient today.”

“Oh, I know why she’s so impatient today,” Zatanna said, a knowing smirk on her face.

“Don’t you dare say a word about it to Rob, Z,” Wally said, her cheeks turning pink.

“I won’t,” she promised. “But will you?”

Wally didn’t respond, her face turning red.

“Oh, so you’re  _ not  _ gonna say anything yet,” she teased.

Wally stuttered a bit, trying to find some excuse.

“Zatanna, don’t tease her too much,” Artemis said, though she was also smirking. “She’ll short circuit and then what will we do?”

“You’re right. We’ll save the teasing until after the party. Did you get those things M’gann and I asked for?”

“What things…?” Wally asked.

“They were in the bags.”

“Artie, what did you buy?” she asked again, suspicious of what they were planning.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get our Jitters order and come back before the birthday boy gets here.”

Wally pouted, still highly suspicious but not making anymore comments about it.

For now.

With their usual Jitters order made, they returned to find that not only was Mount Justice decorated for the party, but there were Christmas decorations up as well.

“Jeez, I didn’t think we were gone that long…” Wally muttered.

“M’gann decided to kill two birds with one stone,” Artemis explained. “I got her some more party supplies and some Christmas stuff I found in my house that we don’t use anymore.”

“Huh… Maybe I should ask Aunt Iris if I can take the decorations we don’t put up anymore…”

“Better than throwing them out. C’mon, let’s give Conner his coffee.”

“Kon!!”

“I heard you already!” he called back.

“Then come get your coffee!!”

Zatanna giggled, following Wally into the kitchen to drop off the drinks in her hands.

“Never a dull day when Kid Flash is here.”

“I’m the life of the party!” she said, taking her drink and heading into the living room. “So all we’re waiting on is Kaldur and Rob?”

“Well, yes, but I thought you might want to decorate Robin’s cake,” M’gann said. “You did say you were gonna get him back for the cake he decorated. We have two for a reason.”

“Oh my god yes! I’m so getting him back for that cake!”

She hurried over, taking the icing bag and gladly starting to write something on it.

“Ugh, my handwriting looks terrible like this… But it’s legible!” she said proudly. “Z, you wanna draw a little Robin underneath?”

“Yes! Ooh, this is so much fun!”

Wally and Zatanna stood over the cake, completely taking over decorating it and giggling to themselves about whatever they were doing.

Once they were satisfied, they stepped away to show everyone else.

M’gann stifled her giggles at the sight.

Artemis snorted and smirked, rolling her eyes.

Conner rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“I feel like this is going to become a tradition,” he said.

“It is now that you’ve said it,” Wally replied.

“We’re all getting weird cakes now, I guess,” Artemis muttered.

_ Recognized Aqualad B02 _

“Kaldur, come see the cake Z and I decorated!!” Wally called out.

“Kid, there is no need to shout,” Kaldur said as he walked in.

“She’s been shouting all morning,” Conner said.

“Unsurprising, considering the day. She is just excited,” he said, stepping forward to see the cake. “Ah, your revenge has started.”

“Conner has now triggered the tradition of everyone getting a weirdly insulting cake for their birthday.”

“We have all been doomed,” Kaldur said, nodding like this made sense. “Robin should be here any minute.”

“About time! He complained I would be late and I was here early!”

“She was here super early,” Zatanna agreed.

“I see you are being petty again.”

“I’m proving a point,” Wally retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Very well.”

_ Recognized Robin B01 _

“Rob, I got here first!” Wally called out proudly as she ran over to meet him. “Also happy birthday, you giant dork!”

“Good morning, KF. Good to see you didn’t sleep in. Also, thanks, you massive nerd.”

“Come see the decorations! Kon worked hard on them!”

“I see he decorated for both Christmas and my birthday.”

“Artie brought some of her old decorations.”

“Oh, I should do that, too.”

“Hey, idea stealer!”

Robin smirked at her as they walked into the living room.

“We’ll share the idea. How about that?”

“Fine, but you’re on thin ice.”

“Fair enough.”

“Oh! Before we get too far into the festivities, I have to continue my tradition of giving the birthday person their present first!” Wally said, digging through her backpack and producing the wrapped box.

“What the fuck?” Artemis asked.

“The first birthday party Kid experienced was my own. She gave me my present before we even officially started the party and now she just does it. It is like her own personal touch on a birthday.”

“Oh…”

“Here!” Wally said proudly, handing Robin the box. “It’s from me and Z!”

“Oh, cool, thanks. Real quick, though, you wouldn’t happen to know why my costume vanished from the locker room, would you?”

“Not a clue. You sure you brought it with you yesterday?”

He hummed at that, clearly suspicious.

Shaking his head slightly, he instead opened the present handed to him and unwrapped the tissue paper.

“...You son of a bitch! You both gifted me my missing costume?!”

“It’s not just your costume, though,” Wally said. “Z and I made some upgrades.”

“Yeah!” Zatanna agreed. “We upgraded your wrist computer and added actual armor to the torso area and arms!”

“And I added more places to hide things! Honestly, I’m surprised Batman let you out of the house with so little protective armor when the dude’s covered in it!”

“I didn’t put armor in my costume because it would be too heavy for me…?” he said. “I thought I told you this.”

“Yeah, but you forgot that my own costume is armored with lightweight armor that works well when I run. So I had Uncle Barry help me implement it into your suit!”

“Oh… Thanks, KF, Z… I actually really like it.”

Wally and Zatanna grinned at each other.

“But steal my suit again and suffer the consequences.”

“Gotta catch us first.”

“Can’t believe I have two girls to heckle me all the time now…”

“As if you don’t heckle back, Rob.”

“Yeah, but now you have backup.”

“Don’t act like Kaldur isn’t your backup! Or Artemis!”

“Well, yeah, but Kaldur also heckles me! And Artemis doesn’t need backup! She heckles you on a daily basis by herself!”

“It’s true,” Artemis muttered, shrugging slightly.

“You better find a partner or lose the heckling game,” Zatanna said with a smirk.

Robin groaned.

Wally let out a laugh, smiling widely.

The party continued as normal, the cakes being shown with Wally proudly showing off that she had written ‘Happy Birthday Dork Wonder’ on the one she and Zatanna had decorated.

It got a good laugh out of Robin, with the promise to up the ante next year.

As the party atmosphere started to die down, Wally and Robin found themselves hanging out in the kitchen, drinking hot chocolate and picking at the remainder of the Dork Wonder cake.

“So, I had to kick you out of the room yesterday so I could ask Z if she could-”

“Hey, you two!” Artemis called out from the living room. “Look up!”

They both looked up, seeing a sprig of mistletoe hanging above them, an invisible M’gann trying not to giggle as she held it above them.

Wally started to turn red, planting a quick kiss on Robin’s cheek before running off into the Zeta tubes, the computer calling off her designation before anyone could react.

Robin blushed, placing a hand on the cheek she kissed.

“...Oh…”


	34. Insecurity

“Hey, good evening, my dudes!” Wally said as she ran in from the Zeta tubes. “Where’s Rob?”

“Robin and Batman are busy in Gotham tonight,” Green Arrow said. “So you get me for the night. Not that you mind, right, Kid Flash?”

“Depends if you’re gonna be cool about our shenanigans when we’re bored.”

“Depends on how terrible your shenanigans get.”

“Ask Red. He knows.”

“Fair enough. Did the Flash tell you about the League meeting a couple weeks ago?”

“He straight up told me he said no to letting me in the League! Like, that’s the first thing he said to me when he got back home!”

Green Arrow laughed at that, grinning widely.

“Classic Flash! But did he tell you the good news, too?”

She grinned and nodded.

“Yeah! I’m so excited that Roy-”

_ Recognized Red Arrow B06 _

“Speak of the devil… What brings you here, Red Arrow?” Green Arrow asked.

“I heard the League had a meeting about potential memberships,” he said, glancing at Wally.

GA looked at her as well.

“What? He deserved to know there was a meeting about memberships!”

“So?” Roy interrupted. “What did you all vote on?”

The rest of the Team hurried over to listen to the results, eager to hear who gained a membership and who didn’t.

“So, before I go into the nitty gritty details, each member of the Team was put up for membership. And each one of you was denied due to various reasons, though Nabu did vouch for both Aqualad and Kid Flash. And reluctantly Zatanna, as well.”

“I knew Nabu was listening to me ramble on to him!”

“Anyway, I’m not technically supposed to tell you all this until the ceremony later this month, but the League has five new members. Doctor Fate, Atom, Plastic Man, Icon, and…”

There was a small pause, everyone leaning in to hear who it was.

Even Wally, who already knew.

“Red Arrow. The ceremony will be on the 30th. Congratulations, Roy. I personally vouched for you and I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks… That actually means a lot coming from you. But that’s not the whole reason I came here.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve decided to take up the offer of joining the Team. For at least today.”

_ Recognized Artemis B07 _

“Oh, Artie, you’re just in time!” Wally said excitedly. “Roy’s joining the Team for the day!! Isn’t that exciting??”

“Great… The Team has needed a  _ real  _ archer…” Artemis grumbled as Green Arrow began to pull up some mission details.

“Artie, that’s not-”

“We do have a mission lined up for the Team, actually,” Green Arrow interrupted. “Sportsmaster has been spotted at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Unfortunately, this one only requires a small number of you and Batman gave me the match up already.”

He cleared his throat, glancing at the Team.

“The Team he had built for this mission is missing Robin, so to make up for that, we’re sending Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Red Arrow. The three of you have worked well together in the past, so hopefully Red Arrow is willing and able to adapt to your new skill sets. Kid, I know you could probably run there faster than anyone, but I want you all to take the Bio-ship and-”

“I’m going, too,” Artemis said loudly, interrupting the mission brief.

“...Are you sure, Artemis? I mean…”

“I’m sure. And I’m going whether you let me or not.”

Wally whistled low, a bit impressed.

“...Alright. Those of you not in costume, go get changed and meet up at the Bio-ship. I’ll send Kid Flash the coordinates on her wrist computer along with any other details we know about what Sportsmaster is doing in New Orleans.”

Once everyone assigned was ready to go, they boarded the Bio-ship, Artemis piloting them to the coordinates Wally gave her.

“...Hey,” Wally said softly, turning to look at her. “You’re definitely a real archer and you’ve got nothing to prove. At least to me.”

She gave Artemis one of her signature grins.

Artemis tried to give her a small smile back.

“Thanks, weirdo…”

“Kaldur, I know you said you don’t believe that there’s a mole, but I think Wally’s new archer friend over there could be the mole,” Roy said quietly.

“Roy, you are my friend and I would like to believe you, but Artemis is also my friend. What kind of evidence do you have that she could be the mole?”

“All that weird shit that’s been going on where your enemies seem to know where you’re going to be started happening after she joined, right? And she comes walking in claiming to be Ollie’s niece when we all knew that was bullshit. She’s sketchy and-”

“And Kid trusts her enough to see valuable information in her notebooks. She has even let Artemis read your notebook, though under supervision as they had both accidentally ripped it during an… incident.”

“I’m not even gonna ask. But keep an eye on her during this mission, anyway. She seemed awfully eager to jump in on our mission when she heard Sportsmaster was involved. They’re connected in some way, I just know it.”

“We will see. But if she proves you wrong, will you leave the matter be?”

“...Sure, whatever.”

Kaldur smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Just enjoy the mission with us. I know Kid will be trying her best to show off what she has learned for you. Do not let her overshadow you.”

Roy smirked.

“As if that speed racer could beat me at anything other than running.”

“I heard that and I’m taking that as a challenge!” came Wally’s voice from the cockpit.

“It was meant to be a challenge, speed racer! Show me what you’ve got!”

“Your dynamic with that guy is so weird…” Artemis muttered.

“You say that like our dynamic isn’t just as weird,” Wally retorted. “I think it’s an archer thing.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask. What’s with the whole ‘speed racer’ thing?”

Wally shrugged.

Same reason you call me ‘weirdo’. Just an observation that turned into a nickname, I guess. Over time, it just became a natural replacement for my name. Though, he mostly used it to try and cheer me up or tease me.”

“It must be nice hearing it again.”

“Eh. I’ve gotten used to the new nicknames I’ve gotten. Not much to miss when the person saying it hasn’t been around…”

Artemis opened her mouth to say something, but an alert from the Bio-ship interrupted her.

They had arrived at their destination.

“Alright,” Red Arrow said. “Since I’m the oldest, I’m taking charge of this mission.”

“Kaldur’s the Team leader, though,” Wally pointed out. “Also, don’t try to pull the whole ‘I’m a League member’ card. You haven’t been indoctrinated yet.”

“Co-leadership, then,” Kaldur compromised. “I know how you both operate, and Red Arrow has skills that we do not. From what he has told me, he has encountered Sportsmaster many times before, and I have encountered him alongside Red Arrow on one occasion.”

“So he’s up to no good and you two are the experts,” Wally said. “I can get behind that. What’s the plan?”

“The usual, Walls. We follow him and then make it up as we go.”

“My favorite default plan!”

“Great. We’ll wait until we see him and then follow at a discreet distance.”

So that’s what they did.

At first.

Judging from Artemis’s recounting of the events leading up to the end, both archers got caught by Cheshire and Artemis thought they were dating.

(“Pretty weird choice in girls,” Wally would later say.)

Red Arrow managed to get a tracer on Sportsmaster and tried to follow him, but both he and Aqualad were blown out of the water.

“Kid! We need eyes on Sportsmaster!” Kaldur said through their comms.

_ “Little busy at the moment!” _

Wally darted out of Cheshire’s grasp with Artemis, trying to figure out the best way to disarm the assassin and get back on track with the mission.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Cheshire disappeared, her distracting clearly done for now.

“Hey,” Artemis said. “I placed a tracker on her. Show me your wrist computer so I can give you the signal, and tell Aqualad.”

“But what about-” Wally tried to ask, but was cut off as Artemis roughly grabbed her wrist and put in the signal, shoving her arm away. “Hey! What the hell?!”

“You and Aqualad follow Cheshire. I’ll go with Red Arrow to find Sportsmaster,” she said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

“Alright, jeez…! The fuck is your problem…?” Wally grumbled, contacting Kaldur and filling him in on what Artemis told him.

What neither of them knew was that Artemis had no intention of helping Red Arrow.

Or that Red Arrow had planted a tracker on Artemis to keep tabs on her movements.

So she sent her Teammates on a wild goose chase to catch a tracker on a moving train.

Wally frowned as she managed to catch up to the tracker’s location, grabbing it and running over to Kaldur.

“We’ve been had by our own Teammate,” she said. “She led us away on purpose.”

“But for what reason would she not want our assistance?”

“I don’t know, but we really need to find out what’s going on with her.”

Kaldur nodded his agreement, pausing a moment as an incoming transmission came over their comms.

_ “Warehouse with Ivo and Sportsmaster, along with the Brain and Klarion. Sending Kid Flash coordinates now.” _

As if on cue, Wally’s wrist computer beeped with an incoming message, showing a different tracker location.

“...Goddammit… Roy tagged Artie…”

“We should go. It sounds as if they need our assistance.”

“Fine. I’ll run ahead and give them a hand until you show up.”

Pulling her goggles down, she ran off, easily finding the warehouse in question and bursting inside.

“Artie, you know I love you,” Wally said as she joined the fight between Artemis and Cheshire. “But why the train tracker? And how did you even find Cheshire if the tracker wasn’t on her?”

“Clearly your friend put a second tracker on me and followed that one instead,” Cheshire taunted. “Some Teammate she’s turning out to be.”

“Ugh! We don’t have time for arguing!” Artemis said, managing to get away from the fight and burst into the back room where Klarion and the others were. “Freeze!”

“If you insist,” Klarion said with a smirk, snapping his fingers and freezing all the villains.

The ice statues shattered moments later, revealing that they had gotten away.

“Our mission was a failure,” Kaldur reported once they returned to Mount Justice. “And we still know nothing of what our enemies are planning.”

Red Arrow immediately turned on Artemis.

“This is all your fault.”

“Hey, if it wasn’t for me, we would have never found out that Sportsmaster was working for the Brain, Klarion and Ivo! I’m the one who found them!”

“Ivo has been in Belle Reve this entire time. There’s no way in hell you saw him at that warehouse.”

“Woah, hey, let’s not point fingers like that,” Wally said, getting physically in between the archers. “Roy, stop with the whole Artemis is sketchy thing. We know she was sketchy, but she’s not anymore.”

“You really believe that? She intentionally sent you and Kaldur on that wild goose chase by planting that tracker on the train! You admitted it yourself on the way here!”

“Yeah, she probably did it because she was insecure that you joined the Team. You keep undermining her skills.”

“I did it so you both wouldn’t follow me. And I was hoping Red Arrow would follow you guys so I could deal with Sportsmaster and Cheshire myself.”

Everyone stared at her in shock.

The sai that was taken as a souvenir was thrown at Artemis’s feet roughly, a yellow gloved hand snatching the tracker out of her hand.

Without a word, Wally stalked off to put her new souvenir on her shelf and get ready to go home.

“I’ll go make sure she’s alright,” Conner said, walking off before anyone could protest.

He found her in the souvenir room, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“I want to talk to Rob,” she mumbled, setting the tracker right next to Cheshire’s mask.

“Fair enough. But that might not be until tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to talk to anyone else.”

“Okay. Kaldur’s sending everyone off to bed right now anyway, so you should probably go, too.”

She huffed, shoving past him to get changed.

She left without a word to anyone, only leaving the computer to call out her designation.

“She will be fine after talking with Robin,” Kaldur assured, though no one knew if he was talking to himself or everyone else.

Red Arrow narrowed his eyes at Artemis.

“You’re not who you say you are. This isn’t over.”

Wally groaned as she laid on her bed, sighing when her phone went off.

**[1:30] Rob:** _ heard you had a rough mission. we can talk tomorrow. i’ll come to you _


	35. Complaints and (False) Maturity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays to everyone!
> 
> Here's a gift before the 25th since I don't know when I will be able to post again in the next few days!
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hey, kiddo? You awake?” Barry called up the stairs, frowning slightly when he didn’t get an answer. “Yesterday’s mission must have made her more upset than I thought…”

“She did mention that Robin would be coming around to talk it out with her,” Iris said. “She’ll be fine if we leave her alone until he gets here. You better hurry before you’re late for work.”

“Shit, you’re right… Hang on, I’ll let her know we’re leaving…” Barry mumbled, raising his voice to call up the stairs again. “We’re heading out, Walls! Robin should be here soon to pick you up, so don’t go moping around in your room all day, okay?”

No response.

“She’ll be fine. Robin’ll knock some sense back into her,” he said, leaving the house with Iris and making sure the extra key was still under the mat for Robin to find.

Not long after they left, he showed up at their door, easily finding the key and unlocking the front door.

He slammed the door open and then shut behind him, not even bothering to announce his presence as he walked upstairs and kicked open Wally’s bedroom door.

“Get up. We’re gonna make breakfast together,” he said, opening the curtains to let the sun in and ripping her blankets off of her.

She mumbled something into her pillow.

“Speak up, I can’t hear you.”

“You just got here and you’re already being mean. What gives?” she said, raising her head to see him digging out an outfit for her to change into.

“I haven’t eaten or had my coffee yet. And you know what? Kaldur filled me in on what happened last night and, yeah, I’m mad at Red Arrow, too! And Artemis! Just like you! I had a long fucking night only to get messages that half the Team had a bad night, too!”

“And we didn’t get into the League.”

“And our mentors said no to letting us into the League!” he added, tossing an outfit onto her bed. “Get changed and meet me in the kitchen. We can bitch to each other while we cook and eat.”

“...I like the sound of that. Give me like two minutes to get my shit together.”

“I would say hurry up or I might burn down your kitchen, but I have more respect for your house than that. Also I don’t want Iris to kill me.”

“She’d kill us both. I’m not allowed to do science in the house for a reason. Get out so I can get changed.”

Robin smirked and shook his head slightly, stepping out and closing the door behind him.

A few minutes later, he was joined in the kitchen by Wally.

“Where do you keep the pancake mix?” he asked.

“Aunt Iris makes them from scratch. I know the recipe… kinda.”

“Kinda is better than not at all. Let’s see how much we can fuck this up.”

So the duo got to work with following the recipe Wally knew, filling in the blanks in her memory and eventually just making it up as they went along.

“These pancakes look like shit,” Robin said with a grin.

“Doesn’t matter how they look,” Wally replied, matching his grin. “Only matters how they taste. Syrup’s in the cabinet over there if you wanna grab it.”

“So,” he said as they sat at the table. “Kaldur told me the basics, but all he said was that you were upset at our archers. Talk to me, KF.”

She huffed, pouting slightly and leaning her cheek in her palm.

“I was super excited that Roy finally got that stick out of his ass and joined the Team, if only for the one mission. But Artie wasn’t as excited because she thinks he’s a better archer than her. There was just a lot of arguing and not-so-friendly competing between them, so I was getting agitated at them.”

“Understandable. Batman told me after our mission that I was originally supposed to be your third, but shit happened. Go on.”

“But then… Artemis intentionally sent Kaldur and I on a wild goose chase by putting a tracker on a moving train and saying it was Cheshire. And Roy didn’t make anything better by tagging Artemis because he thinks she’s the mole. Her actions yesterday didn’t really help anything… They argued some more and Artie admitted to leading Kaldur and I away intentionally. So I got mad and got rid of my original souvenir to take the tracker from her hand instead. I haven’t spoken to either of them since.”

Robin nodded his understanding, taking a bite of his pancakes and immediately spitting the piece out.

“We suck at making pancakes without a mix or recipe. But back to your bitching. They were definitely in the wrong and there was really nothing Kaldur could have done to prevent something like this happening. He did tell me about the fighting between the archers, so that’s got me pretty mad.”

“You’re right, these pancakes are terrible. Let’s go to Jitters. Do we have to visit the Team today?”

“Unfortunately. But we can keep to ourselves and maybe bitch with Kaldur. Lord knows he needs to let his feelings out eventually. I know we stress him out.”

“I always feel bad when I know he’s getting super stressed. Let’s clean up and head out.”

“Dude needs a vacation or something…”

“Lately, I think all of us need a vacation. I snapped at one of my study session classmates the other day because they were still struggling with one equation. I wasn’t even actually angry about that…” she mumbled, handing him dishes to dry. “But I scared everyone there and I don’t-”

“I know. You don’t like getting angry at people because heroes shouldn’t scare people. And you don’t want to turn out like those who should not be named. But we’re still growing up and even adults have a breaking point. It’s normal for people to hit theirs every now and then. And since we’re still young, we’re still figuring out where our breaking point is. Doesn’t help we’re putting our lives in danger literally every time we suit up.”

“Tell me about it. I thought I was thoroughly fucked on my birthday mission since I had no back up. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end, but that whole day was just… so weird and I didn’t think I would be able to get through by myself…”

“But you did,” Robin said, smiling slightly at her. “You underestimate yourself a lot, KF. Red was right when he said you were the most intelligent member of the Team. I may be smart enough to hack into just about anything, but you’ve got everything I’ve got and a whole lot more.”

He let out a small laugh.

“I mean, I don’t have the emotional intelligence you have!”

“...Emotional… intelligence? What do you mean?”

“You always claim you’re not good with reading people and understanding how they feel, but you’re the most empathetic person on the Team, except for maybe M’gann. Anytime someone’s feeling even a little off, you’re aware of it before even they are! You may not be aware of it, but you’re always making sure we’re on the top of our game.”

“Well, we don’t work well when someone’s feeling bad…”

“And that’s why you get agitated and stressed out quicker when there’s tension on the Team. Like yesterday. You’re so aware of everyone else’s emotions that it was a bit too much for you to process completely and you got upset. No offense to Roy, but I think that mission would have gone a bit smoother if I was there instead of him.”

“...I don’t really get it, but I’ll believe you for now.”

“Good. So, if there’s still tension at Mount Justice, stick close to me and I’ll make sure you don’t go snapping at the wrong person.”

“Thanks… You always have my back.”

“We’re definitely the Dynamic Duo. Nothing can keep us apart for long.”

“I thought the Dynamic Duo was you and Batman…”

“We’re a much better Dynamic Duo. The best there is.”

She blinked, then smiled widely and giggled a bit.

“You’re still scary good at making me feel better. Are you sure I’m the only emotionally intelligent one here?”

“Maybe I learned it from the best. We have been picking things up from each other over the years. At least, that’s what all the adults have been saying.”

“If only we picked up Kaldur’s zen. Maybe we could have saved everyone quite a few headaches.”

Robin snorted and laughed as they stepped into Jitters.

“Kaldur has so little zen, I’m surprised he’s still sane! Pretty sure he just took on the mom friend role because  _ someone  _ had to try and contain all the chaotic energy the Team has.”

“Our chaotic energy cannot be contained.”

“Truer words have never been said.”

Their order was placed, the baristas gladly making it for them.

“So if we have no mission, what’s on the agenda besides bitching about how terrible some of our Teammates are?”

“That’s all I have planned, honestly.”

“Fantastic. I love having nothing but complaining planned. It’s how I survive.”

“I think every teenager feeds off of drama, honestly. That’s the only explanation I have about why there’s so much backstabbing and shit in high school.”

Wally snorted and smirked.

“You have backstabbers and snitches at your private school?”

“Unfortunately no high school is safe from the drama.”

“Truly unfortunate.”

They grabbed their order when Wally’s name was called, walking side by side to the nearest Zeta tube.

_ Recognized Robin B01, Kid Flash B03 _

“Anyway, I’m pretty sure most of the kids in my study group think I’m a major weirdo and probably somehow getting the answers from the teachers without them knowing,” Wally said.

“Not your fault you’re super smart,” Robin said as they walked further inside. “Barry and STAR Labs encouraged you to keep learning what you wanted to learn about.”

“Uncle Barry created a science monster and now he has to live with that.”

Robin laughed, following her into the kitchen.

“Hey! I’ve got a bone to pick with you!” Artemis shouted, storming toward them.

“Ah, that’s where the bad feeling was coming from…” Wally said. “I’m not talking to you until you calm down.”

“No, we’re talking now! You really think you can just-”

“Hey, no, we’re not talking now,” Wally interrupted, still keeping her voice calm. “Go blow off some steam and come back when you’re ready to talk without raising your voice. I’m not interested in starting an argument.”

Artemis opened her mouth to say something, but Wally turned away from her to talk with Robin again.

“So, as I was saying, I think Caitlin and Cisco are gonna keep me as a part-time intern at STAR Labs even after I outgrow the Little Stars program. Plus, Caitlin keeps asking me about the whole speedforce thing and I think the speedforce is messing with her since they never show up when she asks them to.”

Finally realizing that Wally wasn’t going to talk to her, Artemis groaned in frustration and stomped off.

“Wow, KF, that was really mature of you.”

“Aunt Iris said I have to stop picking fights just because someone’s yelling at me. And yelling always leads to arguments, so I really don’t wanna argue with Artie.”

“Fair enough. But you’re learning to control a situation rather than reacting to it. Those are some big steps in your recovery.”

“Yeah… Uncle Barry said years of pain will take years of recovery…”

“Hey, excuse me?” came a soft female voice from the doorway.

They both turned to see Zatanna standing there.

“Sorry if this is a loaded question, but you all talk about Wally like something bad happened to her. Can I ask what happened?”

Robin glanced at Wally, silently asking her if she was okay with that.

Wally smiled at Zatanna.

“Come sit with us and I’ll show you, alright?”

“Show me? What…?” Zatanna mumbled softly, taking a seat across from Robin and Wally.

Wally didn’t answer right away, digging through her backpack and pulling out her own notebook, handing it to Zatanna.

“Here, read this. I… cannot tell you what’s in this notebook verbally without feeling physically ill, but we’re here if you have questions.”

“I feel like I might have a lot…”

While Zatanna read, Robin and Wally chatted quietly with each other, discussing their respective missions and what they thought was going on with their Teammates.

“Oh, I did not realize you two had arrived,” came Kaldur’s voice from the doorway. “You should have come to get me.”

“Trust me, Kaldur, if you weren’t in the immediate area when we got here, we weren’t gonna look for anyone,” Wally said. “Come sit down. Z’s reading through my notebook and I’m waiting for Artie to calm down before we talk out what happened yesterday.”

“Yes, Artemis has been waiting all morning for you to show up. She did seem angrier the last I saw her…”

“That might’ve been because KF shut her down before they even started arguing.”

“I won’t argue with her about what happened,” Wally said, her tone firm. “We can talk it out like normal people. If she’s willing to talk at all.”

“You may have to wait a bit longer on your conversation, Kid,” Kaldur said, smiling slightly. “Zatanna, are you alright?”

Zatanna had shut the notebook, clearly finished reading.

Her face was somewhat pale, shock evident in her expression.

She didn’t say a word as she got to her feet and walked around the island, pulling Wally into a tight hug.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” she mumbled into Wally’s shoulder.

“Because it wasn’t theirs to tell. I’m the only one who carries that around with me. Literally and figuratively.”

“We were all essentially sworn into secrecy the moment she told us about what happened,” Robin explained. “We’re not even allowed to answer questions without her permission. But you know you’ve gained her trust when she lets you even look at her notebooks.”

“It’s common knowledge in the League about what happened to me, but it’s kinda been an unspoken rule that I tell other people at my own pace,” Wally said, gently pulling away from the hug. “Sit and ask your questions. I know you have them.”

Once Zatanna was seated, she took a deep breath.

“Where are you parents now?”

“Still in Central, unfortunately. I don’t see them around.”

“Do they still live in the same house?”

Wally shrugged.

“As far as I know. Like I said, I don’t see them around.”

“We… did see them a couple months ago,” Robin said. “It wasn’t a fun time for anyone involved…”

“What happened? What did they want?”

“They wanted custody of me again,” Wally said simply, her voice calm. “So they invited themselves over for dinner to talk with Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry.”

Despite her calm demeanor, her hands were shaking as she talked.

“I may have been in a better mental state if they hadn’t tried to pull that shit right after our failed simulation exercise. So the entire Team and Red Arrow came with me to dinner that night under orders from Batman.”

“Batman gave the orders for that…?”

“He proclaimed it to be an emergency mission for the Team,” Kaldur explained. “We were assigned to ensure Kid’s safety through the night.”

“Not that we really had to do any heavy lifting,” Robin added. “Once her dad threatened Artemis, she was in between them before anyone could move.”

“I told them in no uncertain terms to fuck off and get out of my house.”

“After that, KF had the worst panic attack I’ve ever seen from her in years. Couldn’t really blame her, though. It was a rough few days.”

“Judging by the way you talk about your aunt and uncle, I doubt they would’ve handed you over so easily,” Zatanna observed.

“No, they were just being polite by having them over like that,” Wally said, the shaking in her hands subsiding. “There’s no way they would’ve said yes to anything they said that night.”

“Yeah, Barry told me afterward that they were already planning on saying no to granting custody to your parents,” Robin said with a small nod. “And Artemis said you didn’t need those assholes anyway. You’ve got it good with Iris and Barry.”

“Well, I mean, I think anything is better than before.”

“Very true. Plus, you’ve got more creative freedom since Barry actively encourages you to blow things up at STAR Labs.”

“Only sometimes. Caitlin says I need to keep the lab intact for other things.”

“Makes sense. There’s only one STAR Labs in Central, after all.”

Zatanna blinked, looking a bit confused.

“Caitlin? Who’s that?”

“A scientist at STAR Labs. She and Cisco helped Barry out when he first got his powers. And they’ve been helping KF with understanding hers, too. Take her speed, for example. She runs a lot slower than the Flash.”

“Dude, you don’t need to tell her all of that…” Wally mumbled.

“She’s slower? How can you tell when she moves so much faster than the rest of us? I mean, she crossed the entire country in less than four hours!”

“She’s significantly slower, though no one is entirely sure why,” Kaldur explained. “Kid’s theory is that the speedforce - the mysterious entity that chooses who gets to be a speedster - has put a cap on her speed level. However, Caitlin and Cisco believe it all to be a purely psychological thing.”

“Personally, I think it’s a combination of both,” Robin said. “I think the speedforce is definitely putting a cap on her speed, but it’s a lot higher than she thinks it is. All the bullshit going on in her head is just preventing her from reaching her full potential.”

“Oh, I see… But is the speedforce a real entity or…?”

“A hundred percent real, Z. We’ve met them before and they’re… interesting, to say the least. But even they don’t know why Wally runs slower than her predecessors.”

“Oh, I see…”

“They know everything that’s gonna happen on our timeline, though,” Wally added. “They’ll answer your questions as long as whatever answer you’re looking for won’t cause you to try and change Fate.”

“Why is that important?”

“We all have a destination in life. They’re just making sure we don’t change that destination.”

There was a slight hesitation in her answer, and Wally’s voice sounded a bit tense.

“...What did they tell you?” Zatanna asked quietly.

“...That there’s a tragedy waiting for me at the end of my timeline…”

Zatanna gasped softly, her hand covering her mouth.

“Did they-”

“I don’t know anything else,” Wally interrupted. “They won’t tell me anything else because they know I’ll try and change it.”

Robin kept quiet on the subject.

The speedforce had told him not to say a word to Wally about their previous conversation.

Not like Wally remembered being possessed by an extra-dimensional being for a few minutes.

A crash from deeper in the headquarters drew their attention away from the conversation.

“Sounds like Artie’s still really pissed off,” Wally mumbled. “Not the first time I’ve been blamed for someone else getting punished. Probably not the last, either.”

“Maybe we should get out of here before she moves the violence into the kitchen,” Robin suggested. “Jitters trip, anyone?”

“Count me in!” Zatanna said quickly, getting to her feet as Wally put the notebook back in her backpack.

“I will come along as well,” Kaldur said. “There is only so much I can take before I, too, begin to break.”

“Kaldur’s zen is fading.”

Robin nodded his agreement, leading the way toward the Zeta tubes.

“There’s only so much chaos one person can take before they snap. And unfortunately for Kaldur, the Team is full of nothing but pure chaos.”

“I still stand by my statement that you and Kid will be the death of me one way or another…”

Wally let out a loud laugh at that, patting him on the back affectionately.

“Don’t go dying on us yet, Kaldur! Someone needs to be the mom friend and keep us all in line!”


	36. Performance

Wally entered Mount Justice to find it oddly quiet and with no one to come greet her.

Which was weird because according to Zatanna, everyone had just been here not too long ago.

(She had told Barry that she was supposed to be meeting her friends earlier in the day, but of course he hadn’t gotten Iris a Christmas present yet and needed a distraction.)

(“You owe me for this,” Wally had said after the fact.)

But now it seemed like everyone had just… vanished.

“Oh, Kid has finally arrived…”

Well, not everyone, she supposed.

“Kaldur?” she called out, following his voice into the living room. “Where’d everyone run off to? It’s not that late… I thought we were having a Team movie night tonight…”

“Ah, yes… About that…” Kaldur said, suddenly looking a bit awkward and nervous.

She stared at him, glancing between him and Zatanna.

“...Kaldur’ahm, where is the Team?” Wally asked, tone suspicious.

“Robin got a mission from Batman to investigate some thefts at a circus,” Zatanna said. “So he took M’gann, Conner, Artie, and Red Arrow with him. They left a couple hours ago.”

“...What circus is he investigating?”

“The Haly International Traveling Circus. Why do you ask?”

Wally scowled, already pulling out her phone.

“That motherfucker…” she grumbled, turning to stomp out of the room. “I’ll be right back. If you hear screaming, don’t worry about it.”

As she stalked away, angrily tapping at her phone, Kaldur sighed heavily.

“Oh, dear… Robin better be prepared for the storm he has created…”

“Kid Flash, you seem agitated,” Red Tornado observed. “Is something the matter?”

“Red, let me ask you something,” Wally said instead of answering his question. “Did Batman give out any missions today? Without waiting until the  _ entire Team  _ was here?”

“Batman has not given out any missions as far as I am aware.”

“Great. Fantastic. I will be screaming and yelling, but please don’t interrupt me, okay? I’m just going to murder Robin through the phone and when he gets back.”

Red paused for a moment, seeming to be observing her carefully before turning away to continue on his path.

“Remember to clean up any messes.”

“Will do,” she grumbled, dialing a familiar number and pacing back and forth angrily as she waited for her target to pick up.

_ “...Hello?” _

“Yeah, hi. Remember me?” she said, speaking quickly and sounding agitated, exactly how Iris sounded when she was struggling to get interviews properly set up. “I’m the best friend who knows everything about you that YOU LEFT BEHIND ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT-TO-YOU MISSION!”

She could practically hear him wince as she literally screamed into the phone, her pacing getting faster.

_ “Oof… Yeah, I earned that… But I can’t talk. I’m on a confidential mission from the B-Man himself.” _

Oh, so he was trying to avoid her now that she called him out on not taking her with him.

Two could play that game.

“Bullshit! I asked Red and he said Batman hasn’t given out any missions today! Are you trying to avoid me or something?! You bitch and complain that I don’t talk about my issues, but if you’re doing this to avoid me for whatever reason, you need to tell me so I can fix whatever I did wrong!”

_ “KF, you haven’t done anything wrong, okay? I admit, I’m kinda on a rogue mission here. But it’s for a good reason!” _

“You better have a damn good reason for leaving me behind! And it better not be because you suddenly got nostalgic for Haly’s Circus after all these years!”

_ “There’s… been a string of robberies going on inside the circus and word on the street is that Jack Haly is complicit. I just want to clear his name.” _

“So why leave me behind? You know that I-”

_ “I know you know. But that’s why I left before you found out. You’re too close to the matter at hand.” _

She huffed, her pacing slowing slightly.

“You sure that’s not yourself you’re talking about? I don’t know Mr. Haly like you do.”

She lowered her voice slightly for the next part, glancing around to ensure no one was listening in.

“You knew Mr. Haly from your time with the Flying Graysons. Has he suspected anything about you?”

_ “No, I don’t think so. But I think he’s a bit confused on why the Daring Dangers don’t look related.” _

She snorted and smirked slightly.

“The Daring Dangers? That’s so stupid. I would’ve helped come up with a better one.”

Robin laughed on the other end.

_ “Yeah, I bet you would’ve…” _

“I’m still gonna kick your ass when you get back here. I hope you know that. Red already gave me permission to murder you.”

_ “Fuck, he did? Why’d he do that??” _

“I dunno, but he told me to clean up my messes. Prepare yourself for death, Grayson.”

_ “I’m taking you out of my will.” _

“Can’t do that if you’re already dead. What’d you leave me?”

_ “I’m not telling you. I’ll call up Alfred and have him write you out of it.” _

“Boo, you’re no fun.”

_ “So, you’re just murdering me and not everyone else that I brought along?” _

“You really think I could murder Kon? I can only dream of taking him down in a real fight. He could crush me like a bug!”

Robin laughed again, dissipating her anger.

_ “Maybe before, he could! You’ve gotten taller and stronger, so you could probably take him!” _

“Yeah, Aunt Iris was complaining before that she has to get me new clothes since I’m starting to outgrow my old ones finally. My suit is at STAR Labs getting adjustments over Christmas break.”

_ “I really am forever the shortest member of the Team…” _

“You’ll get taller. I bet you’ll be almost as tall as Kaldur some day.”

_ “Here’s hoping. Oh, speaking of Christmas…” _

“If this is another invitation to that Christmas party in Gotham, Uncle Barry already RSVP’d us for it…”

_ “Well, it is and isn’t an invitation. I was wondering if you wanted to be my date to the party.” _

She paused for a moment, her cheeks turning pink.

He wanted her to be his date to the party? Like… his  _ date  _ date??

_ “KF? You good?” _

“U-Uh, yeah…! Yeah, I’m good…! A-And I’ll definitely be your date!”

_ “Cool, cool. I wish we could talk longer, but I have to get back to the others before they come looking for me. You know how the archers are.” _

“Unfortunately. Give ‘em all a good wack on the shoulder for me, alright? And tell them who it’s from.”

_ “I’ll definitely do that for you. I’ll call you again when I can, okay?” _

“You better or I’m coming to you.”

_ “I would call that an empty threat, but I know it’s not. And that’s terrifying. Goodbye, KF.” _

“Yeah, bye…”

Wally sighed as she hung up, still pacing as she thought about Robin’s choice in Teammates.

“Kon… Miss M… Artie… Red Arrow…” she mumbled to herself. “Roy probably invited himself like the asshole he is, but what do the other three have in common?”

She pulled a little notebook out of her pocket, still mumbling to herself as she paced and wrote down notes and thoughts.

“Rob trusts our Teammates with his life… Of course he does… But Roy probably joined the Team based off of Rob’s choices to come along with him… Is he keeping an eye on people he thinks could be the mole?”

“Is she okay?” Zatanna asked quietly as she and Kaldur watched Wally pace and mumble to herself.

“She will be fine. She is probably trying to figure out why Red Arrow chose to go along on Robin’s mission. He may be a part of the Team, but he does not usually get chosen for missions.”

“Do you think she’s still mad that he left without her? I mean, she stopped shouting, but…”

“Oh, she is definitely still very much upset with Robin for not inviting her. He will get an earful once they have returned.”

“...She really likes him, huh? That’s why she’s so upset…”

Kaldur nodded.

“We have done just about everything together since we met, though they have spent more time together than I have. I had no way of contacting them in Atlantis for the longest time before Kid and Robin reworked a cell phone to work underwater for me. If she had her way, she would prefer that they get assigned missions together all the time.”

“They both did say that they think of each other as their best friend. And I can totally see it! It’s like they can read each other’s minds or something! Especially when they both have the same chaotic idea!”

“Those chaotic ideas will definitely be the death of me one day… I can always tell when they are plotting something that may jeopardize the mission.”

“I can see you two spying on me! Leave me alone to brood!” Wally suddenly shouted from across the room.

“Sorry!” Zatanna called back, ducking back into the kitchen, Kaldur following her.

Wally huffed, going back to her thoughts.

“I’m gonna murder Roy, too… Accusing my friends of sending out intel to our enemies… Especially Kon…” she mumbled softly. “Kon doesn’t know anything! They wouldn’t have put up that much of a fight if they really wanted him to be the mole in our Team!”

So she stayed at Mount Justice, mumbling and theorizing to herself to entire night as she waited for her Teammates to return.

Zatanna and Kaldur stayed up with her, keeping her company and eventually getting her to settle down in the living room instead of pacing around near the Zeta tubes.

_ Recognized Robin B01, Red Arrow B06, Artemis B07, Miss Martian B05, Superboy B04 _

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you!” she shouted, running into the main room.

“Aw shit, she’s still here…” Robin muttered, shoulders slumping.

“First things first!” she said, punching Roy in the chest.

“Ow! Holy fuck…!”

“That’s for thinking my friends would betray the Team! Stupid asshole!”

“Woah, hey, KF! Relax!” Robin said, trying to placate her. “He doesn’t think there’s a mole anymore. It’s alright!”

Ignoring his attempts to get her to calm down, she turned her attention to him.

“And you! You really think you can just leave me behind like that?! I would’ve kept you on the objective! Do you really think so little of me?!”

“Wow, you’re definitely still mad. Holy shit…!”

“I’m your best friend! I know more about you than everyone in this room combined! And you thought I would be  _ too close to the fucking mission _ ?!”

“We should leave…” Artemis said, everyone else quickly leaving Robin and Wally alone.

“Great backup, guys…” he muttered bitterly before looking back at Wally. “Look, KF, I didn’t mean to offend you by not inviting you-”

“But you did! If you had just messaged me and said ‘Hey, I’ve got a pretty personal mission going on at Haly’s Circus. Wanna come along?’ I would’ve said yes and come running over as fast as I could! Uncle Barry can do last minute Christmas shopping himself! Not my problem that he forgot to go shopping for Aunt Iris! Again!”

“Jeez, alright… Yeah, it was definitely my bad about not inviting you…” he said. “But I also know how much you’ve gotten into the holidays lately and I didn’t want to pull you away from decorating or wrapping presents or anything like that. I know you like doing that stuff a lot and I didn’t want you worrying about me…”

She huffed and pouted.

“But I was worrying about you  _ because  _ you didn’t invite me. I didn’t know if you were getting hurt or whatever… So I ended up staying here all night waiting for you all to come back just so I could see if you were alright myself…”

There was no anger in her voice anymore.

She had wrapped her arms around herself, gripping her upper arm tightly.

“I thought we did stupid personal missions together…”

Robin let out a small breath, offering her a smile.

“Tell you what: next time a stupid personal mission comes up, you’ll be the first person I call. Okay?”

“...Okay.”

“Great. Now, let me get changed and then we can take a nap or something. I’m exhausted…”


	37. Of Parties and Arguments and Unheard Words

“Kiddo, are you almost ready to go?” Barry called up the steps, startling Wally out of her thoughts. “We’re gonna be late if you take too long.”

“I’m almost ready!” she called back, hurriedly pulling on her Christmas sweater and packing the last few gifts into her backpack, ensuring she had one for every Team member.

She was somewhat tired from staying up late last night wrapping presents and making sure everything was perfect, but she wasn’t about to let that ruin the Christmas party.

“Come help me out with these gifts, Walls.”

“Coming!”

She hurried downstairs, backpack on her shoulders.

She smiled at Barry, taking a few boxes off the top of the pile.

“I’m ready to go now.”

“Great. You excited for the annual League Christmas Party?” Barry asked as they left for the nearest Zeta tube.

“Totally! It’s the first one for the Team, too! And Kon and M’gann’s first Christmas!”

“An exciting year this time. Joan even made all your friends Christmas sweaters this year.”

“Is that what all these boxes are?” she asked as they arrived in Gotham, walking the short distance to the party venue.

“Yep. You can have your friends open those ones right away so you all can match,” he said with a grin. “I know how much you like matching with people.”

“Matching Christmas sweaters! This is so exciting!”

“All these years and you’re still excited by the weirdest things… Look alive, kiddo, we’re here.”

Practically vibrating with excitement, Wally hurried inside ahead of Barry.

She dropped off her backpack near the Christmas tree and easily found her friends in the crowd, grinning widely at them.

“Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!”

“Someone’s happy. Good to see you, KF. About time my party date showed up,” Robin said with a smirk.

“I had some last minute wrapping to do and I lost track of time for a bit. Too in the zone, y’know? Also, I insist that you open whatever I’m about to give you right now.”

“You really gonna only give out half the presents, kiddo?” Barry teased, appearing behind her with the rest of the gifts.

“And here I thought  _ I  _ was the slow one,” she teased back, sticking her tongue out.

Barry rolled his eyes, helping her pass out the boxes to the correct people before leaving the Team alone to talk.

“Open ‘em!!”

“We better do as she says or she might explode from her excitement,” Robin joked, already ripping the wrapping paper off of his gift. 

“Is this…?” Artemis mumbled, pulling her gift out of the box.

“A Christmas sweater?” Zatanna finished. “Did you make these, Wally?”

“I literally have no idea how to knit, so no. Mrs. Garrick made them! She makes them every year for me and my friends!” Wally explained. “She was so excited to make more than three this year!”

“Good to know she didn’t forget about us this year,” Robin said, having already put his on. “Comfy as always…”

Each sweater was made with the wearer in mind.

And each one mimicked their hero costumes nearly perfectly. With a few more wintery or Christmas-y additions to them.

Wally’s was as obnoxiously yellow as her Kid Flash costume, but it was designed like a typical Christmas sweater with her symbol on her chest.

“How did she know what our outfits looked like?” Zatanna asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever been shown on the news before.”

“I may have provided some reference photos for her when she asked for them.”

“How did you-”

“I’m sure you’ve seen the polaroid camera, Zatanna,” Kaldur said. “That is free for the Team to use for the notebook. But you may also use it for personal reasons. Kid has been known to do this from time to time.”

“I provided the camera, so I think I get special rights to it!”

“You literally only use it to get photos of all of us when you think we’re not looking,” Robin said.

“I always know you’re looking. You’re wise to my tricks.”

“Someone has to be.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and grinned.

He smiled back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, welcome to the Justice League’s annual Christmas party, guys,” Robin said. “Be prepared to do this every year. But at least we’ve got more sidekicks this year than before.”

“Did our favorite least favorite archer decide to grace us with his presence tonight?”

“Not that I can tell. Honestly, I don’t think Ollie knows where he is.”

“Fair enough. He kinda fucked off after that last mission I wasn’t invited to.”

“Jeez, you’re still bitter about that?”

“I wanted to go!”

Artemis frowned slightly, looking off to the side.

She and Wally hadn’t really spoken since the tracker incident on their last mission together.

And it hurt knowing that she forgave Robin for not inviting her to a personal mission much quicker than she had forgiven Artemis for… well, that entire mission.

“You could try to talk to her,” Kaldur said quietly to her.

“...What if she doesn’t want to talk?”

“Then she will let you know and come to you when she is ready.”

Artemis huffed softly as she watched Robin and Wally bicker a bit more.

But none of it was meant to be insulting or hurt the other if the dumb smiles on their faces were anything to go off of.

“So what does a Justice League Christmas party usually consist of?” Zatanna asked. “My dad never took me to one before…”

“I thought it was weird I’ve never seen you around before,” Robin said. “But it’s essentially like a regular party, but around the halfway point, everyone exchanges gifts and then we continue on until people start to tap out and go home.”

“There’s always things for us to do as the kids, y’know?” Wally said. “But mostly Rob, Kaldur and I hang around like we usually do. Mostly around the food and drinks.”

“And don’t worry about food and speedsters. They always make sure there’s plenty of food for everyone since certain people have super metabolisms.”

“Not my fault.”

“I didn’t say it was. Anyway, it’s free game on what you want to do while you’re here. And your mentors won’t really care if you leave before they do.”

“I never wait for Uncle Barry to finish up whatever he’s doing before I go home. If I’m tired, I’m leaving.”

So the Team split up to experience the party.

Wally darted between a few different interactions before finally settling on hanging around Robin.

She and Conner had successfully pressured Red Tornado into wearing a Christmas sweater with them, much to their delight.

M’gann and Zatanna got her personal recommendations from the food table (which was everything).

And Kaldur scolded her for taking so much food in one go before anyone else could get a chance to even look at the table.

But she never came near Artemis.

“So how was that mission, anyway?” Wally asked, hanging around on one of the balconies with Robin, away from everyone else so they could talk freely. “I never did ask after you guys got back.”

“It was a lot of fun, actually. Haly was innocent, not that I had any doubts, and Roy got that stick out of his ass about there being a mole in our ranks. Plus, getting to perform in the circus again was like reliving my memories.”

“I bet. It’s good you had fun, though! But next time, I want in on the super personal missions, okay?”

He laughed a bit and nodded.

“You’ll be the first person I call. I promise. We can’t separate the Dynamic Duo, after all!”

She laughed as well, taking a sip of her drink and looking out at the snow covered Gotham City.

“You got lucky and got a white Christmas,” she commented.

“It’s not that great, honestly. No snow this year in Central for Christmas?”

“No. Guess that weird snow day on my birthday was all I was getting. And I couldn’t even really enjoy it, y’know, with the mission and everything…”

Robin glanced at her, gently placing his hand over the one she had resting on the balcony railing.

“You did good work on that mission. Better than any of us, for sure. Not everyone can say they prevented regicide and saved an entire country from gaining a dictator.”

She smiled at him, a softer one this time.

“Guess so…” she mumbled, glad that the cold gave her an excuse for the redness of her cheeks.

They fell into a comfortable silence, neither moving their hands as they simply looked out on the city.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” came a voice from the door inside.

They both jumped, breaking apart and turning to see Artemis standing there.

Wally looked away, not even bothering with a greeting as she turned her attention back out to the city.

“Hey, Artie, what’s up?” Robin asked, giving her a smile and pretending that he didn’t notice the tension between Wally and Artemis.

“I was hoping I could have a chat with our resident weirdo. Just a quick one, if she wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t think-”

“It’s Christmas and I can already tell that we’re just going to end up arguing,” Wally said, not looking at her. “And you haven’t made it up to me anyway. I’m not going to ruin the holiday by fighting with you. Just… go back inside.”

“You don’t tell me what to do, okay? You’re only a year older than me.”

Wally groaned and finally turned back around, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

“This is what I meant when I said we’d just argue! What part of ‘I don’t want to ruin the holiday’ did you not understand? Leave us alone, okay?”

“No, we’re talking about this right here, right now!”

“No, we’re not!”

“You’re being unreasonable.”

“And you’re being a stubborn bitch!”

Wally let out a shout of frustration, running off and leaving only the lightly falling snow that was left in her path.

Robin groaned loudly.

“Artemis, what happened to boundaries?”

“It’s not good for the Team for us to have tension between us!” Artemis defended.

“And it’s also not good for you to make it worse. If anyone asks, just tell them KF and I will be right back, okay?”

“But I-”

“I’m not ordering you to do it, I’m just asking. We’ll be right back after I get her to calm down a bit. Just know she’ll probably avoid you for the rest of the night.”

Without waiting for a response, he hopped off the balcony, Artemis watching as he used his grappling hook to swing across to the next rooftop.

“I figured I’d find you here of all places,” he said, smiling and sitting next to Wally.

The Ace Chemicals sign illuminated their surroundings, silhouetting them against the lights and making the already pretty snow seem even more magical.

“...I remember when we first met here,” she mumbled. “You thought I was trying to unalive myself.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t really know what else to think when I saw you sitting here by yourself on the edge of a roof. Why come here, though? It’s a bit cold.”

“I run hot, so I’ll be fine for a little longer.”

Taking a closer look, he could definitely see that she was vibrating her body slightly to keep her body temperature up.

“I came here because I like the view,” she said, looking out over the city.

“It is a nice view. What should we talk about while we watch the lights?”

“I don’t want to ruin a good party with Team issues…”

“I know.”

“I told Artie that.”

“You did.”

“I feel like she’s not listening to me when I’m telling her I don’t want to talk about it until she calms down.”

“She’s not.”

“She…” Wally sighed. “She thinks she’s calm, but she immediately started arguing with me.”

“She did.”

“Even after I told her that I don’t want to argue on Christmas.”

“You told her that, yeah.”

She pouted, glancing over at him.

“...Seriously, how do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me now, Dork Wonder. How do you always know exactly what to say and do to calm me down?”

Robin hummed in thought, swinging his feet slightly.

“Guess I’ve got years of practice. You do the same for me, you know? We’re always so in sync that sometimes I wonder if Kaldur feels left out.”

“It’s not his fault we didn’t have a way to call him for a while. We’ve got our connection with him when we’re teamed up,” she said, going back to looking out at the city.

They fell into another comfortable silence.

Finally, Robin spoke up, turning his head to look at her.

“Hey, Wally, I need to tell you something.”

“Yeah, what’s up?” she asked, not looking at him just yet.

“I-”

His words were drowned out as fireworks exploded into the sky.

Wally watched with wide eyes, grinning slightly.

Her favorite part of the Christmas party in Gotham: the fireworks that Gotham City had for the holidays.

And the view from here was a lot better than at the stuffy party venue for sure.

Once the noise died down, she turned to him with a smile.

“What were you saying, Rob?”

He hesitated for just a moment, putting on a smile to match hers.

“I was just saying that maybe we should head back to the party before they come looking for us.”

She hummed at that, observing his expression.

That wasn’t what he wanted to tell her.

But she supposed he’d tell her again some other day.

And she’d gladly wait until he was ready to say it again.

“I guess we should! Let’s get going before they send Uncle Barry to come find us!”


	38. Usual Suspects

Wally pouted as she waited impatiently in the Hall of Justice lounge.

For once, she was here early and no one else was here yet.

“You’d think that they’d be here… What with their mentors being original League members…” she grumbled to herself, pacing back and forth a bit as she waited.

The door to the lounge opened, Wally throwing her hands up and turning to address whoever came in.

“About time you guys showed up! I’ve been-”

She stopped, seeing a female sidekick she didn’t recognize standing there looking a bit confused on the way she was greeted.

“...I don’t know you. You’re not the people I’m waiting for,” Wally said after a few moments of silence.

“Yeah, hi. I’m Rocket. Icon’s sidekick?”

Wally snapped her fingers and smiled.

“That’s right! Canary did mention something about the Team getting a new member while we were training yesterday. That must be you! I’m Kid Flash, obviously, but you can call me Wally!”

“Well, like I said, I’m Rocket. But you can call me Raquel. I heard there are other female sidekicks on the Team?”

“Oh, totally! You’re gonna love Z and Artie! And the boys, too! Kaldur’s super chill but a lot of fun once you get him going! And Conner is…”

Raquel smiled slightly, listening to Wally ramble on about the Team, eventually managing to get her to sit down so she wasn’t pacing excitedly while she talked.

“They sound like a lot of fun. How long have you guys been a Team again?”

“About six months. But I’ve known Robin and Kaldur for five years now, so we’re a well oiled trio.”

“I bet. Icon’s only letting me on the Team because he’s being inducted into the League today. You know anyone getting a membership?”

“Red Arrow! He’s my oldest friend and it’s been a long time coming for him to get a membership! It’s actually because he didn’t get one initially that the Team even exists at all!”

“Oh? How come?”

“Well, it’s kind of a funny story, really…”

“KF, are you telling stories without us?” came Robin’s voice from the door. “Honestly, I thought we did everything together.”

“Not my fault you got here late. Rocket and I are bonding, I’ll have you know. She’s gonna be on the Team starting today, so I need to get to know my new Teammate.”

“Oh, so that’s what Canary meant yesterday… Hey, I’m Robin. Boy Wonder.”

Wally snorted and smirked.

“Dork Wonder is more like it.”

“That’s rich coming from the World’s Okayest Speedster.”

“Ignore them,” Kaldur said, leaving his friends to banter and bicker amongst themselves. “I am Kaldur’ahm, but everyone calls me Kaldur or Aqualad. We are very excited to have a new member join our Team.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Hope I’m not throwing a wrench in your dynamic.”

“Trust me, you’re doing fine,” Artemis said. “Can’t be that much worse from my introduction into the Team…”

“That was a rough few days,” Conner agreed.

“Maybe you can tell me about it after you tell me your name,” Raquel prompted.

“Oh, right. I’m Artemis. Green Arrow’s protege and currently being ignored by our resident loud mouth over there.”

“Huh… She talked about you a lot and didn’t mention being mad at you just a few minutes ago.”

“What a weirdo… I’m getting mixed signals…”

“I’m Conner Kent,” Conner said. “But you can also call me Superboy. Or SB. Or Kon.”

“And I’m M’gann M’orzz! Miss Martian when we’re out on missions!”

“Zatanna Zatara. I also respond to Z.”

“Well, like Wally said, I’m Rocket, but you guys can call me Raquel when we’re not working.”

Robin and Wally were still bickering off to the side, though Wally was using the fact that she was taller to keep Robin at arm’s length, a smug smirk on her face.

Zatanna giggled at the sight, grinning widely.

“Ah, that’s so adorable to look at. I hope one of them says something soon or I’m going to lose my mind,” she said, not once dropping her smile.

“I’m guessing they’ve got a thing for each other?” Raquel asked.

“So you’ve just met them and you can see it. Impressive,” Artemis said. “But yeah. And they’re oblivious to the fact that the other likes them.”

“It doesn’t really help that Wally didn’t know what a crush was until recently either…” M’gann added.

“What the hell?”

“Long story. She’ll tell you later,” Zatanna reassured her, smiling still and raising her voice so Robin and Wally could hear her. “Hey, the ceremony is gonna start soon!”

“Ack! I promised Roy I’d watch him get his League card!” Wally said, hurriedly turning on the monitor in the room and backing up so she could see it better.

“Why aren’t we out there watching it?” Raquel questioned.

“Because it’s warmer in here and also because Batman said so,” Wally answered, not taking her eyes off the screen. “Oh, Captain Marvel got to keep his spot! Good for him, but I won’t be outdone!”

They watched as the new League members were handed their membership cards, both Robin and Wally placing comforting hands on Zatanna’s shoulders when they showed Doctor Fate.

“Aw, man…! Icon convinced me to be a hero and now I’m not even working with him anymore!” Raquel grumbled.

“You may end up working with him again,” Kaldur reassured her. “We still work with our mentors from time to time. Save for Superboy and Zatanna, of course.”

On screen, Green Arrow stepped forward and swapped places with Superman just as Red Arrow approached to take his card.

With a proud smile, Green Arrow handed his former protege his Justice League membership card.

Cheers broke out within the Team, the original three cheering the loudest.

“Woo! Finally, we have someone to catch up to! A true example to all sidekicks everywhere!” Wally said, grinning widely.

“Tell me about it,” Robin added with a smirk. “He helped us kickstart the Team. And now he’s kickstarting our want to no longer be called sidekicks.”

“What’s wrong with being a sidekick?” Raquel asked with a small frown. “You guys inspired me to even think of starting in the hero business.”

Robin opened his mouth to explain what happened to them in the summer months, but was cut off as an alarm on his wrist computer went off.

“You wear your costume under your civvies?” she asked, disbelief evident in her voice.

Ignoring her question, Robin turned to the Team with a smirk.

“We’ve got a hit. Suit up and let’s head out to the Bio-ship. Preferably before the adults figure out what we’re doing.”

“Congrats, Roy!” Barry said cheerily, patting the archer on the back as soon as they were away from the press. “I bet Wally’s super excited to congratulate you back in the lounge!”

“Who knows with her nowadays…” he mumbled, still a bit starstruck from actually getting into the League.

As the door slid open to the lounge, the League members were met with an empty room with no sign of the Team.

“...It seems the Team is off on their own again,” Red commented.

“Oh, goddammit, Kid! Not again!”

“So why are we leaving in such a hurry? And where are we going?” Raquel asked, desperate for answers.

“We’ve been tracking an assassin who goes by the name Cheshire. She was reported boarding a plane to Asheville with a briefcase that we want to get our hands on,” Robin explained, checking his utility belt to ensure it was still stocked up.

“What’s so special about this briefcase?”

“It belongs to the Injustice League,” Wally said, cycling through the different modes on her goggles to ensure they were all in working order. “We would have had the briefcase earlier, but  _ someone  _ dropped the ball in New Orleans and let Cheshire get away again.”

She shot a pointed look at Artemis before pulling her goggles back down and continuing with her check.

“Anyway, where’s the plane at, Rob? Are we close?”

“Weird thing, KF. Looks like the plane just… stopped somewhere in the mountains. It might’ve crashed. I’ve uploaded the coordinates directly to the Bio-ship, Miss M.”

“Understood. Heading there now.”

Once they landed, everyone hurried off to investigate the wreckage.

Wally zipped around, looking for bodies or any sign of the briefcase.

“I can’t find anything!” she called out, running over to him. “Not picking up any heat signatures, either.”

“The plane didn’t have a registered flight plan,” he mumbled, pulling up all the info he had on the flight Cheshire had taken on his wrist computer. “It only came up on the League computers. And I had to hack the computers to get to it.”

“Speaking of the League,” Raquel said, walking over to them. “Why aren’t they involved in this? Why all the secrecy?”

“Cheshire is the Team’s unfinished business,” Kaldur said, his tone hard. “We have an unspoken agreement that the Team does not interfere with unfinished League business. Likewise, it is not their job to interfere with ours. Kid, can you do another sweep of the crash to ensure there are truly no bodies?”

“Can do, but I doubt I’ll find anything.”

True to her word, she zipped around the wreckage three more times, coming to a stop with a shake of her head.

“Oh? What’s this? Some lost little kiddies looking for their toy?” a teasing voice said from somewhere in the shadows.

The Team immediately huddled up back to back, looking around for the source of the voice.

“Don’t you know it’s not nice to take things that don’t belong to you?” Cheshire said as she stepped into view, a smirk evident in her voice. “Too bad you’re outnumbered.”

More and more people stepped into view.

The Riddler.

Shimmer and Mammoth from back on Santa Prisca.

And a group of mercenaries with some odd looking tech on them.

Without any prompting or orders from Cheshire, a force field was set up, trapping everyone in the area within it.

“No way in and no way out, kiddies. I figured you would try and track me down, so I faked the plane crash and prepared this ambush just for you.”

“You would be wise not to underestimate us,” Kaldur said, narrowing his eyes. “Zatanna, provide us some cover.”

Zatanna smirked, her eyes glowing a bit as she said a spell, a snowstorm brewing and limiting everyone’s view.

A familiar laugh rang out through the battlefield, Wally looking to her side to see that Robin had already disappeared.

“Bastard… Wait for me,” she said, not bothering to shout it this time as she followed the laughter to its source, standing back to back with him. “Are you really trying to have all the fun without me?”

“Sorry, force of habit. But you found me anyway, right? No harm done,” Robin said as they fought off mercenaries, not once stopping their banter.

“Guess not. Well, except to these guys. Try and keep a part of their tech intact so we can analyze it later. It doesn’t look like it’s from Earth.”

“I’ll do my best. No promises, though.”

She gave a dramatic sigh, the two pulling off the combination moves they had practiced together.

Though, she couldn’t help but notice that his touch was lingering on her for just a bit after each move.

And maybe hers was as well.

“I suppose that’s the best I’m gonna get.”

A line of red broke through the white of the snow, immediately drawing their attention to it.

“What’s that?” she asked, pulling her goggles down.

“Looks like heat vision. But there’s no way Superman is here. We haven’t destroyed the force field yet.”

“We’ll have to take care of that, won’t we?” she mumbled, focusing in on where the heat vision was coming from. “Woah… That’s SB doing that…”

“SB? No way. He can’t use heat vision!”

“That’s not the only surprise of the day. He’s also flying.”

“He couldn’t do that before. But let’s not focus on SB. Let’s get the villains apprehended and the force field taken down. In that order, preferably.”

As each villain was apprehended, Wally quickly got to work with disabling the force field, grinning once she was successful.

Zatanna dispersed the snowstorm once she was given the okay from Wally, the Team converging back near the Bio-ship.

“So, we’ve got everyone? What about the briefcase?” she asked once she had run over to her friends.

“Artie’s got the case, KF. And it looks like Cheshire got away in the chaos again. Let’s get these bozos on board and to the League before we get into too much trouble.”

It was a quick trip back to Mount Justice, a few League members taking the villains away.

Leaving the Team alone with their mentors. And with Batman.

“I would have thought that at least three of you would have learned your lessons the first time,” Batman scolded, glancing at the original three.

Neither of them looked him in the eye.

“But I suppose that was wishful thinking, knowing those three. Aside from that, excellent work on your impromptu mission. With three of the villains returned, my suspicions about Hugo Strange’s involvement in their escape is confirmed. We have also discovered what was in the briefcase you were all so eager to get your hands on.”

“It better be something good for all the trouble we went through,” Wally said.

“It seems as if the villains had created some kind of biotechnology integrated with nano-machinery. We will be running more tests on it to further understand it.”

Wally parted her lips to say something, an excited look on her face.

“No, Kid Flash, we will not require your help for this. If we require your input, we will call for you.”

She pouted and huffed, but didn’t argue.

“Good. You are all dismissed for now. Try not to get into any more trouble today.”

“No promises,” Robin said as if it was an immediate response.

Batman didn’t respond to that, turning and leaving the Team alone.

“If you’re going somewhere again, at least let Red know, alright Kiddo?” Barry said with a small frown.

“Red will be the only person who knows where we go.”

“That’s the best I’m gonna get out of you, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I’ll be home later tonight.”

He sighed and shook his head slightly, ruffling her hair before leaving.

As Icon turned to leave, Raquel called out to him.

“Uh, congratulations on getting into the League! And… I’m sorry for leaving without saying anything.”

Icon smiled slightly at her and shook his head.

“There’s no need to apologize. We have both found teams that suit us.”

Once all the adults were gone, Robin looked around the make sure Red wasn’t listening in - not that he ever did intentionally, but you never know - he turned to the Team.

“Someone must have tipped off the villains to our plan. How else would they know about us tracking Cheshire like that?”

“Wait, wait,” Raquel interrupted before the conversation went further. “What’s going on?”

“There was a while there where we believed there was a traitor on the Team,” Wally explained. “A mole. But… we’re not entirely sure since the information came from Sportsmaster and he’s not the most reliable source.”

“I would also like to discuss Superboy’s recent berserker type rages,” Kaldur put in. “It is concerning, to say the least.”

Conner frowned, already starting to stalk away from the Team.

“I don’t have time for this. I have business to attend to,” he growled, leaving the room.

Conner finally landed on Santa Prisca, standing at Lex Luthor’s side and glancing at the other people present.

Sportsmaster… Blockbuster… Queen Bee…

“Bane is letting us use his island in return for some… favors,” Luthor explained, answering Conner’s unasked question.

“So the Injustice League was just a distraction, so you and Queen Bee could control everything from the shadows.”

“How perceptive of you. I’m impressed you figured that out on your own without the help of Miss West.”

Conner’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of Wally.

“Yes, I know who Miss West is. And I know that she is on your little Team as one of your main points of intelligence.”

The sound of a helicopter interrupted their conversation, cutting Conner off before he could ask if Luthor was planning to hurt Wally.

Artemis and Cheshire stepped off, the archer locking gazes with Conner.

She gave a small shrug, looking away.

“No one trusted me. I’m where I belong now,” she simply said.

The Bio-ship landed nearby, M’gann floating out and gasping at the sight of two of her friends also being here.

“Now now, M’gann,” Queen Bee said with a smirk. “Keep your promise.”

Conner took a breath, turning to Luthor.

“I’ll help you with whatever you need. As long as you give me more Shields.”

Luthor narrowed his eyes at him, frowning as he studied his expression.

“And just like Superman himself, you are not a very good liar, Superboy. Red Sun.”

Conner froze, his trigger phrase activated.

Artemis huffed and rolled her eyes, turning to her father.

“What do we do?” she asked.

“Come with me, Artemis. We have work to do.”

_ With a heavy sigh, Conner reentered the room, looking guilty and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. _

_ “Actually, I have something I need to confess,” he said, sighing again and lifting the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the blackened Shield. _

_ Gasps and murmurs broke out in the Team at the sight. _

_ “I’m… not fully Kryptonian,” he confessed, pulling his sleeve back down. “My DNA would have been too unstable if I was, so I’m half Kryptonian and half human.” _

_ “Where’d the human half come from?” Wally asked. _

_ “Lex Luthor. And he’s the one who gave me these Shields to suppress my human DNA and access my full Kryptonian powers. That’s why I would go into those berserker rages in battle.” _

“Blockbuster, bring the Superboy along with us,” Luthor said, prepared to leave Santa Prisca. “We will need to reprogram him.”

An arrow with green feathers fired at the villains before they could touch Conner, embedding itself in a nearby tree.

_ “I’d like to say something, too,” Artemis said, stepping forward. _

_ She pulled up three profiles so everyone could see, turning to face the Team. _

_ “My mother used to be known as Huntress. And Sportsmaster and Cheshire are my father and sister.” _

_ Wally blinked, processing this for a moment. _

_ “...Oh! So that’s why you derailed the mission in New Orleans!” she said, realization hitting her. “You didn’t want us to find out about your family.” _

_ Robin laughed softly, smirking and tilting his head. _

_ “I already knew all of that,” he admitted, giving a small shrug. “I just didn’t tell anyone since you earned your place on the Team. Plus, I know how important secrets are to people. And that people need to tell others at their own pace.” _

_ He glanced at Wally for just a moment. _

Queen Bee narrowed her eyes at M’gann, sending her a telepathic message to take Artemis down.

M’gann swallowed, eyes glowing as she lifted Artemis into the air…

Just in time to save her from Sportsmaster’s counter-attack.

_ “I guess that explains why you were acting so weird,” Wally said, smiling slightly. “But see how much nicer this was when you’re all calm and not arguing about it? I forgive you, Artie. I wasn’t really that upset about it, anyway.” _

_ “Thanks, weirdo.” _

_ “So, anyone else?” Wally asked, the question entirely rhetorical. _

_ “Um…” M’gann said, raising her hand and floating forward a bit. “I’d like to say something, too.” _

_ “I was kidding, but go on.” _

_ “Um… This is kinda hard to say, but… back when we helped out Gar and his mom, I was… blackmailed into helping Queen Bee. She threatened to reveal my true Martian form.” _

_ “But didn’t you show that to us already when we asked about it?” Robin asked. _

_ “I may have lied about my true form back then because I was scared,” she said, taking a deep breath. _

_ She shifted into her true form. _

_ A White Martian. _

_ After a few moments of shocked silence, Kaldur spoke up with a smile. _

_ “M’gann, we would have accepted you no matter what. There was no reason to hide.” _

_ Conner gave a small smile, stepping in front of her and gently taking her hand. _

_ “I… actually already knew about this. I saw it back when we mind-melded in Bialya during the whole amnesia incident.” _

M’gann frowned, using her telekinesis to slam Queen Bee against a tree, rendering her unconscious.

She glanced at Conner, catching his eye and giving him a small nod.

Conner smirked, turning suddenly toward Luthor and taking a few steps forward.

“How are you moving?! I activated your trigger phrase!” Luthor demanded. “Unless… that martian girl purged it from your mind!”

Before Conner could even touch Luthor, Blockbuster slammed into him, successfully distracting him.

Bane and his men opened fire, Sphere retaliating with her own gunfire.

Artemis backed up, an arrow ready to fire as both Sportsmaster and Cheshire advanced on her.

“Aw, poor little Artemis. All alone,” Cheshire teased.

“I’m not as alone as you think,” Artemis retorted with a smirk.

Wally and Robin came out of the shadows, fending Sportsmaster and Cheshire off.

Zatanna and Rocket joined the fight, evening the odds slightly.

“So the ninos have returned for a rematch with Bane. I will not be as easily taken down by children again!” Bane shouted, injecting himself with Venom and targeting Wally and Robin.

“You got this one, Rob?” Wally asked, smirking at him.

“Of course. Hope you don’t mind if I team up with Z for this one, though.”

“No harm done! I’m gonna team up with Artemis anyway.”

Robin nodded, Wally leaving him to fight Bane.

She arrived back on the scene of Artemis’s fight to see Sportsmaster pinning her down.

“Hey! Over here, asshole!” she called out, running over and shoving him off of her. “You okay, Artemis?”

“I’m fine. Let’s just concentrate on taking him down.”

“Only if I can pretend I’m punching my own dad.”

“Be my guest.”

They smirked at each other, Wally picking Artemis up and rushing forward with her to attack Sportsmaster.

Each team up was successful with taking down their respective villain except for Luthor.

Wally and Artemis trapped Sportsmaster in a pool of mud, rolling their eyes as he called out for help.

Cheshire ignored his cries, disappearing into the shadows before anyone realized she was gone.

“Shut it, old man,” Artemis said, kicking his head to knock him unconscious.

She plucked the mask off of his face, tossing it over to Wally.

“Here, weirdo. Your souvenir for this mission.”

“Sweet! New souvenir!”

With the villains apprehended and brought back into custody, the Team was left to their own devices.

Wally smiled as she put the mask with her other souvenirs, looking over when she heard a knock.

Artemis gave her a small smile, holding up the sai Wally had taken from Cheshire back in New Orleans.

“Any room for one more?”

“Plenty.”


	39. Auld Acquaintance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have reached the end of Season One, everybody!!
> 
> That was, like, 28 chapters of Season One shenanigans and boy was it a ride!
> 
> Now we move onto some semi-canon/maybe canon stuff that could have happened leading up to Season Two.
> 
> Thanks for sticking along to this wild ride!

“Nice work yesterday, KF!” Robin said as they hung around in the kitchen, still in their pajamas.

Every single member of the Team had slept at Mount Justice the previous night, most not even bothering to change out of their costumes before sleeping.

Robin and Wally were some of those people.

She gave a small tired smile, taking a sip of the coffee Red had made for them.

It wasn’t Jitters, but it would do.

“Yeah, you too, Rob. But it still didn’t answer who the mole was.”

_ Recognized Batman 02 _

Suddenly more awake, the two of them hurried into the main room, the rest of the Team following suit.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering who the mole was. Take this as confirmation that there was a real mole to begin with,” Batman said, not even bothering with an actual greeting.

“So there really was a mole…” Wally mumbled under her breath.

“The mole was not someone within your ranks. The mole was Red Arrow.”

She barely heard the shocked protests from Robin and Kaldur as she stared wide eyed at Batman.

There was no way Roy was the mole.

He wasn’t even around them that often to tip off the villains to what they were doing.

Unless…

She had unintentionally been helping him by keeping him in the loop with everything going on, whether or not he responded to her messages.

“There’s no way…” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“It is unfortunately true, Kid Flash,” Red Tornado said. “The Roy Harper you three had known was another Project Cadmus clone.”

“How is that possible? He never went missing!” she protested, not wanting to believe it.

“Allow me to explain,” Batman said. “The Roy you had known replaced the original shortly after he became Green Arrow’s sidekick. This clone was programmed with a fervent drive to join the Justice League, which explained his reaction to the initial denial the day you three invaded Cadmus.

“Going along with his programming, he refused the invitation to join the Team so he could gain the approval of the League. He was entirely unaware that he was a clone and a traitor up until his secondary programming activated upon his induction. He betrayed the League to Vandal Savage by attempting to infect us with mind-controlling bio-nanotech chips.”

“But…!” Wally started to say. “But that doesn’t make any sense! He never went missing! I know that he’s not a clone! That’s the real Roy! He would never do something like that!”

There were tears in her eyes as she kept going, not wanting to believe it.

Batman waited until her protests died down before speaking again.

“The moment he was swapped with the clone was during a week-long mission that Green Arrow allowed him to go on alone. The Roy Harper that came back was not the same one that left. You knew both the real Roy and the clone without having even known it yourself. Not that you would have been able to tell the difference.”

Wally looked like she had more to say, but nothing would come out of her mouth.

Robin placed a hand on her shoulder, taking over the conversation.

“Where’s the real Roy Harper?”

“We don’t know, but as of right now, he is assumed to be dead.”

“Allow us to look for Red Arrow,” Kaldur said. “He is our friend and I am sure Kid would like some answers directly from the source.”

“Red Arrow is a League member and therefore a League matter. I don’t want to hear that you kids went out looking for him.”

With that, Batman left the Team with Red Tornado.

Kaldur frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No disrespect to Batman, but Red Arrow is still our friend and comrade. We should plan to look for him.”

Suddenly, Red Tornado spasmed and shut down, collapsing to the floor just behind Kaldur.

Wally, getting over her shock temporarily, hurried over to Red and knelt beside him.

“...Something isn’t right here,” she said finally after finding nothing wrong with the android.

“There is a strange mystic energy in here,” Zatanna said. “I felt the same energy coming off of Batman when he was here. Maybe that’s what caused Red to shut down.”

“And Batman has never called us ‘kids’ before,” Robin said after a moment of realization. “He has always referred to us as ‘the Team’.”

Wally, noticing that one of Red’s hands was curled around something, frowned and gently pried his fingers open, carefully picking up a strange looking computer chip.

“Well, this isn’t good,” she said, standing and showing off her findings. “This is one of those modified bio-tech chips that was in the briefcase from yesterday. But what’s Red doing with one of these?”

“With how strange the adults are acting, I think he was trying to chip Kaldur while he had his back turned,” Robin said.

“We should get answers from Red himself,” Kaldur said, going into leader mode. “Kid, Robin, Zatanna and Rocket. You will all stay here and get Red Tornado back online so that we may get some answers. The rest of you will come with me to search for Red Arrow and get our own answers.”

With their duties laid out, the Team split in two.

“Well, I can tell you right now that whatever happened to good ol’ Red is a hardware shutdown, not a software issue,” Wally said.

“So how should we reactivate him if it’s not a software problem?” Robin asked, mostly to himself.

“Well, when you went on that mission to New Orleans, the rest of us found out that Red has another android body in his apartment!” Zatanna said. “He called it his ‘John Smith’ body so he could look more human. Maybe transferring him into that body will help reactivate him.”

“Excellent idea, Z! Can you and Rocket bring it down while KF and I get everything set up down here?”

“Sure! C’mon, I’ll show you where Red lives!”

While the two girls went off to retrieve the new body, Wally and Robin worked quickly to set up a transfer station, leaving Red on the floor since neither of them could lift him up easily.

Once the John Smith body was brought down and put on the set up table, they immediately started to transfer Red into his new body.

Time seemed to move by slowly as they waited for the download to finish, Wally pacing back and forth anxiously.

“Red’s gonna be fine, Wally,” Zatanna reassured her.

“She’s not worried about Red,” Robin said quietly.

“Oh…”

“That Red Arrow guy better have a good explanation for what’s going on,” Raquel muttered. “Making her worry like this is terrible.”

“Not the first time she’s been overly worried about someone or something. She’ll be fine once we’re face to face with Red Arrow.”

“What are you doing to Red?!” came Canary’s voice as she entered the room, staring at them incredulously.

“It’s not how it looks,” Wally said quickly, halting her pacing.

“It looks like you’re downloading his consciousness into a new body,” Canary retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“...Okay, it’s pretty much exactly how it looks.”

There was a beat of silence, no one saying anything as they waited for someone to make a move.

If Batman and Red were acting strange, there was a chance that Black Canary was going to be strange, too.

Suddenly, Red sat up, eyes wide as he looked at the Team.

“Run! She is not to be trusted!”

Canary scowled, letting out a Canary Cry.

Robin frowned and darted forward to attack, but was easily repelled.

She opened her mouth to scream again…

And the gas pellet Robin had planted on her went off.

“Rocket! Now!” he called out, backing away as Rocket trapped her in a bubble, allowing the gas to knock her out.

Once they were sure she was actually unconscious, they released her from the bubble and bound and gagged her just in case she woke up.

“Red, I think we deserve some answers,” Wally said.

“I will tell you what I know. But we cannot stay here,” Red said.

“Let’s take the Super-Cycle,” Robin suggested. “We’ll be able to regroup with the rest of the Team that way.”

So the group of heroes hurried to the hangar bay where Sphere was waiting, the sound of the computer reading off designations echoing through the halls as they boarded the Super-Cycle and quickly left.

_ Recognized Icon 20, Doctor Fate 17, Captain Marvel 15 _

“Maintain radio silence,” Red ordered. “Allow the Super-Cycle to track Superboy.”

“Tell us what’s going on, Red,” Robin demanded. “Why is everyone acting like that?”

“The League has been compromised by Vandal Savage and the Light thanks to the actions of Red Arrow. We were all implanted by the Starro-tech chips by Red Arrow before his programming ended and he regained control over his own actions.”

“So he didn’t do it on purpose!” Wally said, sounding relieved. “But how do these Starro-tech things work?”

“It is good that Batman rejected your assistance, Kid Flash, or you would have been under Vandal Savage’s control as well. The chips are alien organisms infused with nano-technology and magic, resulting in the shut down of independent control of the individual and allowing them to be reprogrammed. Even robotic brains like my own, mystically-protected minds such as Doctor Fate, and a variety of aliens were not immune.

“However, the chip needed exactly 0.16 nanoseconds to completely subvert the host. That delay allowed me to create a failsafe sub-routine. If I tried to infect another person - as with what happened with Aqualad - the sub-program would completely disconnect my power cells and shut me down.”

The teens let the explanation sink in for a few moments.

“...So, why aren’t you under Savage’s control now?” Wally asked softly.

“The Starro-tech is body specific. It only affected my Red Tornado body, not this one.”

The Super-Cycle beeped, alerting them to the presence of their friends and Teammates in the Bio-ship.

The ship decloaked and allowed the Super-Cycle onboard, Wally immediately clambering off to see if Roy had been found.

“You’re gonna hurt yourself like that, speed racer. Relax a little, okay?”

She pressed her lips together, trying not to cry out of relief at the sight of Roy sitting next to Kaldur.

She let out a small whimper, rushing toward him and punching him in the face.

“Do you realize how worried I was about you?! How mad I was when I was told you were the mole and a clone?! What the fuck?!”

“Ow! Yeah, I deserved that…”

“We should compare notes,” Robin said, taking a seat nearby. “We’ve got some good intel from Red - by the way, that’s Red over there in his fancy new human body - and I’m sure Roy has a good explanation for what happened on his end.”

“Red Arrow is indeed a Cadmus clone, much like Superboy,” Kaldur started. “He also had a trigger phrase that allowed information to be taken from him or instructions placed into his subconscious. As such, he would carry out these instructions while remaining completely unaware of what he was doing.”

“That’s also why I was so suspicious of Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis,” Roy added. “It was part of the instructions I was given.”

“Batman also lied to us about preventing Red Arrow from betraying the League to Vandal Savage,” Kaldur finished.

“Good to know we’re at that point because that’s where our side comes in,” Robin said. “The bio-tech chips - Starro-tech, Red said they were called - take control of the individual’s body and mind, allowing room for reprogramming. Even Red and Doctor Fate weren’t safe. But in the really short amount of time it took for the chip to take over, Red created a failsafe in his own programming where if he tried to implant someone else with a chip, he would shut down.”

“How can we trust this Red Tornado, then?” Conner asked.

“Starro-tech is body specific. It only affected his Red Tornado body, not this one.”

As Kaldur and Robin continued to compare notes and discussed what they could do to combat the Starro-tech, Wally took a seat on the floor by Roy’s legs, leaning against them slightly.

“How are you feeling after all this?” he asked her quietly.

“I dunno… How am I supposed to feel after finding out I knew both the real Roy and you? I mean… I just realized I don’t have any emotional attachment to the real Roy, y’know? He wasn’t there for all the bullshit.”

“Well, wherever he is, he missed out on one hell of a little sister.”

He placed a hand on her head.

She smiled and pressed her cheek against his thigh affectionately.

Unbeknownst to everyone present, Black Canary opened her eyes.

Black Canary, Red Tornado and Red Arrow teleported into the Watchtower with Canary in the lead.

“Master,” she said, kneeling before Vandal Savage. “I was captured by the Team and these two, but I escaped and chipped each and every one of them. The Team is waiting for you on Earth.”

“Very good, Black Canary. You are serving me well,” Savage said with a smug smirk.

Klarion narrowed his eyes at his holographic monitor, snarling a bit at what he saw.

“She’s lying! They’ve been purged of the mind control!”

While the three League members distracted Vandal Savage, a certain group of teens managed to sneak aboard.

“Everyone knows the plan, correct?” Kaldur asked softly, keeping his voice low so they didn’t draw any attention to them.

“Take down the League members the best we can and tag them with the cure-tech chips,” Robin said.

“Shh! Here comes a group of them now!” Wally whispered, mentally counting who was entering the room and digging that amount of chips out of one of her compartments.

“Who is it?” Artemis whispered back.

“Plastic Man, Atom, Hawkman, and Captain Atom… If we can get them distracted long enough, I can run behind them and tag them.”

“Understood. Let’s test out our new cure-tech,” Kaldur said, leading the charge to take them down.

Wally waited behind the corner, watching and waiting for the right opening to run by and tag them.

She ran out, the League members barely seeing the yellow blur running behind them and touching their necks before they lost consciousness.

“...Looks like it worked,” she said, placing a hand on her hip. “Now what? Do we split up and try and tag as many Leaguers as possible?”

“It would be best if we split up for now. Zatanna, Kid, Artemis, and myself will head toward the cargo hold. The rest of you, including Sphere and Wolf, will go in the opposite direction. Do not hold back if you encounter your mentor. They will not go easy on any of you.”

The Team split once again, Wally’s team managing to take down Icon, Doctor Fate, and Captain Marvel - though they had to force him to change back into his kid form.

“I’ll stay here with him,” Zatanna said. “You guys go on ahead. We’ll meet up when I’m sure Billy will be okay by himself.”

“We’ll be waiting, Z. Good luck and stay safe,” Wally said, turning and following her friends out of the room.

As the trio approached the cargo hold, they were met with their mentors.

Wally wasn’t putting up much of a fight, preferring to stay on the defense and try to outrun Green Arrow, Flash, and Aquaman.

But of course the Flash was faster than her, and even with Artemis watching her back for trick arrows, they were both overwhelmed.

“Kid! Artemis! Hold onto something!” Kaldur called out, Wally looking to see he was near the airlock button.

Artemis shot a zipline arrow onto the nearby wall, Wally taking her hand as Kaldur opened the airlock.

As the adults were sent flying toward the outer door, Kaldur quickly hit the button again, closing the door and knocking them all unconscious.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Wally hurried over and tagged them all.

“Hey, no hard feelings, Uncle Barry. It’s for the mission. Not that I think you’ll really remember anything that happened…” she said to herself, stretching and letting out a sigh. “So what now, Kaldur?”

“We should regroup with our other Teammates and assist them if they need it. We should also ensure that Zatanna is alright.”

“Alright, three down, three to go!” Robin called out, dodging a few batarangs thrown at him. “I knew this day would come, but I didn’t think you’d be mind controlled for it!”

Batman didn’t respond, the two Gotham heroes engaging in combat.

“I’m so sorry about this, Uncle J’onn!” M’gann cried out, transforming into her true form and telepathically inducing Martian Manhunter’s weakness to fire, using this moment to tag him.

One down, two to go.

And unfortunately, they were tough customers.

“Yo, SB! Can I get a hand over here?”

“On it!” Conner said, managing to get away from his fight with Superman to assist Robin in taking Batman down.

Robin quickly tagged his mentor, jumping when Superman slammed Superboy into a wall.

“Conner!!”

Conner growled, grabbing onto Superman and glancing over at Robin.

“Do it, Robin!”

“But it’ll affect you, too! Are you sure-”

“Just do it! I don’t know how much longer I can hold him still!”

Robin bit his lip, digging into his utility belt for a small black box that he had stolen from the Batcave during their prep time for their Watchtower infiltration.

He opened it, revealing a piece of Kryptonite sitting inside.

Walking toward the two Kyrptonians, he could see it working its magic.

He quickly tagged Superman with the cure-tech, putting the Kryptonite away and helping Conner to his feet.

Conner groaned, leaning on Robin a bit as he recovered.

“Kryptonite hurts…” he grumbled.

Robin blinked then let out a laugh.

“That’s why Batman keeps it in an overwhelmingly impenetrable vault in the Batcave… Well, more like whelmingly penetrable vault.”

“We should meet back up with our Teammates,” M’gann said.

The Team converged into the main room of the Watchtower just in time to see Klarion and Vandal Savage escape.

“Congratulations on your victory, Team,” Red said from her place on the ground.

“Oh, Red, what happened to your limbs, buddy?” Wally asked, pouting a bit.

“I am sure you and Robin will be able to repair me in no time.”

A view screen popped up in front of them with the date and time.

January 1, 2011 00:00

_ Happy New Year, Justice League _

Robin hummed and smirked slightly, glancing up at Wally.

“I should’ve done this a long time ago,” he said.

“Should’ve done wha-”

Wally was cut off as Robin grabbed the front of her costume, pulling her down slightly and kissing her.

After a few seconds they pulled away, Wally laughing a bit.

“Yeah, definitely should’ve done that a long time ago…”

Conner and M’gann shared a kiss as Robin pulled Wally down for another one.

Artemis rolled her eyes and shook her head with a fond smile on her lips.

“About time…” she mumbled.

Zatanna and Rocket grinned at each other before planting kisses on Kaldur’s cheeks, causing him to blush.

“I will never understand such strange human customs…” Red said, mostly to himself as he watched the scene unfold.

The Team dispersed afterwards the check on the unconscious League members and make sure they woke up okay.

Conner and M’gann were left alone to look at Earth through the viewports, Conner spotting a familiar blue and red figure approaching in the reflection.

“Hey, M’gann, could you…?” he asked softly.

“Of course. I’ll go see if my Uncle J’onn is okay,” she said, leaving the two Kryptonians alone.

Conner turned to face Superman, unsure of what he wanted with him.

“Uh… I don’t remember much of what happened tonight,” Superman said, clapping a hand down on Conner’s shoulder. “But you did great tonight. You held your own against me even when Robin used that Kryptonite. I’m… proud of you.”

Conner brightened, a small smile appearing on his lips.

“Can I ask what your real name is, Superboy?”

“It’s Conner. Conner Kent.”

Superman blinked then let out a small chuckle.

“It’s nice to meet you, Conner Kent. My name is Clark Kent.”

Conner stared at him in surprise.

“So we’re…?”

“Yes. And I’m proud that we’re family. Tell you what: I’ll bring you out to meet my parents one weekend. How does that sound?”

“I’d… I’d like that. I’d like that alot.”

“I still can’t believe that I did… all of that,” Roy mumbled, everything finally catching up to him. “I promise I’ll find the real Roy Harper and bring him home.”

“Guardian is already searching Cadmus for the body,” Batman informed him. “For now, we will be keeping an eye on you to ensure you do not have any other malicious programming.”

“C’mon, Roy…” Green Arrow said softly. “There’s always a room for you at my place if you need it.”

Roy allowed himself to be led out of the room by Green Arrow and Black Canary, Batman turning to the rest of the people present.

Wally was sound asleep on Barry’s shoulder, and Barry looked close to following her into sleep.

Everyone else was wide awake for the time being, so he could excuse two key members of both groups from the conversation.

“Flash, take Kid Flash home. I’ll send you the details of what we discussed here at a later time. And Robin will do the same for Kid Flash.”

“Got it… I’m sure Iris is worried sick, anyway.”

Barry carefully picked Wally up, bidding everyone a goodnight before leaving the room.

Once the door was shut, Batman brought up a viewscreen of six League members: Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Hawkwoman, and Batman himself.

“We have one more problem to discuss before I dismiss everyone present,” he said.

“The missing sixteen hours…” Robin muttered. “We don’t know where you guys went or what you were doing for Savage.”

“And unfortunately, none of us remember anything from that time.”

“So we must find out what happened in those missing sixteen hours and how that will affect both the League and the Team,” Kaldur said, sounding exhausted.

“We won’t achieve anything by talking about it now,” Batman said. “Let’s give it time and see if anyone remembers anything. For now, you are all dismissed.”


	40. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> So, we're in the time period in between Season One and Two, which is five years if you didn't know.
> 
> It's a lot, I know.
> 
> Which is why there will be a lot of timeskipping before we reach Season Two.
> 
> But new members will be introduced and plot points will be established for the next season.
> 
> Enjoy, lovelies!!

“Okay, I know I said it was about time they got together, but nothing has changed,” Artemis said, watching as Robin and Wally chatted quietly with each other in the kitchen, files and papers and notebooks spread out in front of them.

“They look like they’re working on something,” Zatanna said. “And they seem like the types to keep relationships out of work, y’know?”

“What are they even working on?”

“I think they’re working on stuff for the League. Lucky them, getting to do things for the adults…”

“If it’s for the League, they’re probably slammed with intelligence stuff and intel.”

“Which means they’ve had no time to spend with each other since New Years… How sad…”

Artemis stayed quiet for a moment, taking in how exhausted both of them looked.

“...Let’s take a Jitters trip.”

“Ugh, why do we get stuck with all the bullshit work the League doesn’t want to do?” Wally grumbled as she looked through file after file.

“Because we’re the smartest members of the Team, so they assume we like getting this kind of work.”

“But looking through files is so boring… Especially since the computer can easily find what they’re looking for…”

She paused for a moment.

“What are we even looking for, anyway?”

“...I don’t even remember.”

Wally groaned loudly, resting her head in her arms.

“We’ve been working non-stop since New Years! Between fixing up Red and doing whatever the League tells us to do! It’s terrible and I need a break!”

“Nothing but non-stop work… Don’t they realize we’re still kids?”

She grumbled and groaned again, heaving a sigh before raising her head.

“We seriously need to take a break and maybe contact Batman about what we’re supposed to be doing…”

“Good thing we went to Jitters, then,” Artemis said as she walked into the kitchen, setting drinks down in front of them. “I made sure the orders were correct and got the weirdo extra espresso.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Artie!” Wally said, gratefully taking the drink and already sipping on it.

“Yeah, thanks, Artie…” Robin mumbled, gladly sipping his coffee and letting out a small sigh. “We’ve been working so long, we don’t even remember what we’re working on for the League…”

“That’s… actually kinda sad. I’ll ask Red if he knows what Batman wants from you guys.”

“Yeah, for now, you two should relax and get some rest,” Zatanna said. “Maybe eat a proper meal.”

“And coffee doesn’t count as a meal,” Artemis added.

Her two exhausted teammates groaned at that.

“Coffee is not food and I’m pretty sure Iris will kill you if you think it is, Wally.”

“But what if I put coffee in my cereal?”

“What if you didn’t? Evacuate the kitchen, both of you. Z and I will make you guys something to eat and I’ll ask Batman what you’re supposed to be doing.”

Wally looked like she was going to protest - she lived with her workaholic uncle, after all - but Robin just shook his head at her and got to his feet.

“Best not to argue with her…”

“I’m too tired to argue, anyway… If Kon’s in my spot, I’m just gonna sit on him.”

“Do not sit on me!” Conner said from the living room.

“Then get out of my spot!”

Robin snorted in amusement, smiling slightly and shaking his head as he dragged her over to the couch.

Conner wasn’t anywhere near her spot on the couch, instead sitting on the armchair and watching TV static again.

Robin and Wally took their usual seats on the couch, sipping their coffees and staring blankly at the TV screen.

Kaldur stopped just before crossing in front of the screen, taking in the sight before him.

“....I do not want to know,” was all he said before walking off.

“Jeez, he acts like he’s never seen his Teammates watching TV static before…” Wally mumbled around her straw.

“It’s super weird, Walls!” Raquel called out from the other room.

“It’s not that weird…”

“It’s only weird because you’re the Queen Weirdo,” Artemis said, handing her a plate of food with a smile. “Eat. We made the Dynamic Duo favorites.”

“What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you, Artie?”

“Everyone else was too soft on you. Someone needed to give you a good kick in the ass, y’know?” Artemis replied, kissing the top of her head. “Eat and rest up. You too, Robin.”

“What? No kiss on the head for me?” he lightly teased, already starting to eat.

Artemis rolled her eyes, giving him a kiss on the top of the head as she passed by.

“Happy, Dork Wonder?”

Robin smiled slightly.

“Yeah…”

“Good. Those plates better be clean when I get back. Conner, make sure they eat, alright?”

“Got it.”

She nodded, finally leaving the room to go call Batman.

They both did clear their plates, setting them on the coffee table next to their empty coffee cups.

But the caffeine didn’t seem to be doing anything to relieve their exhaustion.

All it took was Wally to slump over asleep onto his shoulder to send Robin off into his own dreams.

Conner glanced over at them, giving a small smile at the sight.

He quietly got to his feet, laying them down and tucking a blanket around them, managing to get a pillow under Robin’s head without waking them up.

He gently removed Robin’s sunglasses, setting them aside and making sure they looked comfortable before going back to his seat.

“Sir, I understand you need those files situated, but they’re so exhausted that they don’t even remember what you asked them to do with those files,” Artemis said, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared up at the holographic image of Batman.

_ “They were only assigned to ensure the information on each file was correct and ready for updating in the system. What do you mean they were exhausted?” _

She blinked at that.

So he didn’t know?

“...They look like they haven’t had a chance to just sit down and relax since New Years. From fixing up Red - which took forever, by the way, even though they worked non stop for days - to doing all this work for the League just because you asked them to do it. Has…”

She paused for just a moment to sigh.

“Has Robin not been home long enough for you to see how bad it’s getting?”

_ “I have been previously informed that he returns home late at night and leaves early in the morning to go meet the Team.” _

“So what should we do about this? We’re all worried about them…”

Batman paused as he thought of a solution, finally meeting her eye again.

_ “Inform Kid Flash and Robin that they are to rest and recover until they are back to full health. No missions, no work unless it’s an emergency.” _

“How will we be able to enforce the whole ‘no work’ thing? Missions are one thing, but…”

**_“Hey, are you talking to someone? Is that Artemis?”_ ** came a familiar voice from near Batman’s end of the call.

Barry stepped into view, donned in his Flash costume.

**_“Oh, hey, Artemis! Is Walls still over there with you guys? I heard she hasn’t been doing too well.”_ **

“Yeah, she’s taken to just staying here most nights to keep working even after Robin leaves…”

**_“Yeah, so tell her she has to come home to sleep, but she can keep going over there as long as the only work she does is updating notebooks. And only the Team notebooks. Nothing else, alright?”_ **

“I’ll give her a good whack if she tries to do more work. Robin might follow her example anyway. I’ll pass on the message and make sure the rest of the Team knows.”

_ “Good. I’ll have a few League members take a look at the files in the meantime. Is there anything else to report?” _

“Other than Rocket adjusting to our various quirks, not much else.”

Batman nodded.

_ “Keep me updated.” _

“Will do.”

The transmission ended, Artemis letting out a loud sigh.

“Now you know how I have felt all these years of knowing them,” Kaldur said, stepping up beside her with a patient smile.

“How do you deal with two workaholic, caffeine addicted friends who are too stubborn to say no to more work?”

“Lots of practice and knowing the signs of overwork. Unfortunately, they are wise to my tricks to get them to stop as well, so they have been sure to work where I will not look for them.”

“That explains how you let it get this far. Let’s go check and see if they really did eat everything like I told them to.”

Kaldur smiled more, noticing that Artemis was starting to look just as tired as he always felt.

“They are no doubt asleep, clear plates or not. Perhaps you should take this time to relax yourself. Worrying too much will just cause more unneeded stress.”

Artemis stared at him for a moment as they walked back toward the living room.

“Kaldur, if this is how you feel all the time, you need a vacation.”

“Ah, but who would keep them fully in line if I were to leave for a while?”

“I would say me, but I barely got them to agree to taking a break, so you have a point there.”

Kaldur simply smiled at her, stepping into the living room to see that he was right.

His friends were indeed asleep on the couch, cuddled up with each other.

Conner glanced over, raising a finger to his lips.

“We were just checking in on them,” Kaldur said, lowering his voice. “Batman has put them on a no work order, so when they wake and I am not here, please ensure they do not go for the files again.”

“I’ll restrain them if I have to,” Conner said softly.

“Unnecessary, but appreciated, my friend. If it is late when they wake, send them home.”

Conner nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

Zatanna quietly walked into the living room, a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other.

She took a seat in the other armchair, contently beginning to read.

“The quiet is so nice… I can finally catch up on my readings,” she said softly, smiling at them. “Plus, I put a soundproofing spell up around the living room so no outside sounds can bother them.”

“Well, that’s one less thing to worry about,” Artemis said. “I’m gonna follow their lead and take a nap in one of the empty rooms.”

“We should all take this time to relax for a while,” Kaldur added. “I will inform Rocket and M’gann about Batman’s orders and to keep their voices down should they pass through this room.”

Hours later, Wally mumbled a bit as she raised her head, wincing at how stiff her joints felt from sleeping on the couch.

She carefully untangled herself from Robin, stretching and hearing her joints crack, sighing in relief.

Looking around the immediate area, she noticed Conner asleep in one armchair and Zatanna reading in the other.

“Good evening,” Zatanna greeted softly, not bothering to look up from her book yet. “Batman’s given you and Robin a no work order. Also Kaldur said go home since it’s late.”

“I sleep for a few hours and I have so many orders to follow… Let me just grab my backpack and I’ll head out,” she mumbled, stretching again to relieve the stiffness in her legs. “After I use the bathroom. Tell Rob where I went, alright?”

Zatanna nodded, giving her a thumbs up as she sipped her tea, Wally glancing over to see the cup refill itself.

“...That looks like you’re too lazy to go make more tea.”

“Why get up to make more when my cup just refills itself?”

“Fair enough. I’ll see you tomorrow, Z.”

“See you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm thinking of making a playlist for songs that remind me of each chapter of this story.
> 
> If you have any songs that a chapter reminds you of, leave it in the comments along with which chapter it is and I'll add it to the playlist.
> 
> Once I get it going, I'll post the link in the chapter notes of a future chapter!


	41. Workaholic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ay yo Goodbye 2020 and Hello 2021!!
> 
> Song suggestions for the playlist are still welcome in the comments!
> 
> Enjoy the new year, lovelies!

“Apparently KF’s got an actual internship at STAR Labs now that she’s outgrown the Little Stars Program,” Robin explained as he led the Team inside STAR Labs. “She started today since her summer vacation started yesterday.”

“Why do you still call her ‘KF’ if you’re dating?” Zatanna asked, genuinely curious.

His cheeks turned bright red as he stuttered and tried to find the right words.

“Unless you both haven’t actually put a label on anything yet,” Artemis said with a smirk. “What’s stopping you?”

“Besides the fact that we both live in separate cities, have both been in school until recently, hardly have time to ourselves between missions and League work after school and on the weekends - which by the way is apparently West-Allen family time since Wally’s so busy on weekdays -  _ and  _ I have to go out and patrol through the night? I dunno, Artie. You tell me!”

“...Those are extremely valid reasons. Sorry I asked. But now that you’re both out of school, I’m sure all you have to do is tell Caitlin and Cisco that you want to spend a day with her and they won’t have her come in.”

He gave her a look through his sunglasses.

“I feel like you haven’t met the same KF that I know.”

“The workaholic one? We’ve met, and she’s a bitch. Pretty sure she learned it from her aunt and uncle, though, so I guess it runs in the family.”

“She’s not a bitch. She just gets in the zone a bit too much.”

“She does get a bit angry if you try to get her to stop so she can eat,” Conner commented. “She gave me a nasty bruise once because I put the files she was working on on a high shelf and told her she couldn’t have them back until she had lunch.”

“I must admit that I have suffered her wrath recently as well,” Kaldur admitted. “She was not too happy to hear that I hid the coffee pot…”

“Almost seems like her personality did a complete turnaround after all the bullshit of New Years happened. She’s never been so… eager to work so much before,” M’gann said. “Normally, she’d be trying to get out of doing a lot of work by herself. Especially if she was told to do it.”

“I think she’s finally catching up to her physical age,” Robin said, crowding everyone into the elevator. “And she’s trying to speedrun a few things to get caught up to everyone else before school starts up again. Though, not every kid can say they have a paid internship at STAR Labs at sixteen.”

“Well, not every kid blows up their garage to get superpowers at eleven, either,” Artemis muttered.

As they stepped out of the elevator on the right floor, a bang was heard further down the hall.

“Oh, boy… It’s begun…” Robin said, sounding more exasperated than worried that there was a small explosion in the lab.

“That’s weird, there was no fire!” Wally said loudly.

The Team peeked inside the lab to see Wally donned completely in protective equipment with chemicals spread out in organized chaos in front of her.

A beaker was sitting on an unlit bunsen burner, the liquid inside fizzling slightly.

She glanced up to see her friends, waving slightly.

“If you’re gonna be in here, you have to wear the stuff!” she said, still speaking loudly.

“Why is she shouting?” Zatanna asked.

“She’s wearing ear plugs to protect herself,” Raquel said. “They make us wear them at my school too when we’re in the labs.”

“We better do as she says,” Robin added. “She really won’t let you in unless you wear the right protective equipment.”

He was already pulling on a lab coat and some gloves, digging out a pair of tinted safety goggles from a bin and swapping his sunglasses for them before anyone could see his eyes.

“Rob, come help me make a kaboom! But put on a mask first!”

“Who let her near the noxious chemicals…?” he muttered, pulling on a mask and heading into the lab. “What are we doing?”

He raised his voice so he could hear himself through the ear plugs, standing beside her.

“Caitlin and Cisco want to find out what these chemical combinations do and how they react! They said I’m perfect for the job and gave me a list!”

“At least you’re in a controlled environment!”

“Rude! Check the list for me so I know what I’m mixing next!”

The entire Team gathered around, helping Wally mix chemicals and write down the reactions.

“Okay, let’s see how our new intern is doing with her work- Oh my god, there’s more of them,” Caitlin said, stopping in the doorway to take in the sight of a whole gaggle of teenagers mixing chemicals.

A puff of smoke came out of the beaker Wally had on the bunsen burner, M’gann writing it down from her floating vantage point.

“Looks like that’s the last one, KF!” Robin said, checking off the chemical combination on the list.

“Oh, good! Let’s go tell-” Wally said, looking up to see Caitlin. “Oh! How convenient! We’re done, Caitlin!”

“I can see that. I didn’t know you brought your friends over.”

Wally blinked, tilting her head slightly.

“You gotta speak up! I can’t hear you!”

“Clean up and then we’ll talk!” Caitlin said loudly. “Meet me in my lab!”

“Okay! Got it!”

Caitlin nodded, quickly leaving the area.

The Team cleaned up the mess quickly, Wally showing them how to put the chemicals away properly and how to clean everything correctly.

Once they were finished cleaning and disposing of their protective equipment properly, Wally led them to Caitlin’s lab, the results in her hand.

“Here’s the results, Caitlin! That went much faster when everyone else showed up!”

“Thank you, Wally. I honestly thought it would take you all day to finish, so… I don’t have anything else for you today. And tomorrow, we’re not really working on anything important, so you can have the day off and enjoy your summer like a normal teenager.”

Wally pouted at that.

“But I want to work mo-”

“No, you don’t,” the entire Team said at the same time.

“You’re taking after Barry way too much. Time for you to take a break and relax,” Artemis said.

“Ugh, fine…” she grumbled, allowing her friends to drag her out of STAR Labs.

This found them all sitting around a table in Jitters, Wally trapped between Kaldur and Robin as she angrily sipped her drink.

“You can be angry all you want, Kid, but that will not change the fact that you have to take a break,” Kaldur said.

“Well, someone needs to get the work done! And I’m the only one who can move fast enough to get it all done!” she protested, chewing on her straw.

“That may be true, but you will overwork yourself if you continue in this way.”

“I’m doing fine. The work needs to get done, though…”

“And it will get done. But there is no need to rush if it is not mission critical. And there is no need for you to do it alone. I am sure our Teammates are more than willing to learn how to do what you are working on.”

Wally grumbled a bit, going back to sipping on her coffee drink and ignoring her friends.

Robin observed her defensive behavior - something he rarely saw in her since the Team started - and the troubled expression hidden under her angry facade.

“...Just as I thought,” he said, leaning his cheek in his palm. “You’re just like Barry. You drown yourself in your work so you don’t have to think about whatever’s bothering you.”

“I am not! And I  _ so  _ do not do that thing you just said! And neither does Uncle Barry!” Wally immediately protested.

“Really? Because he was doing exactly what you’re doing while you were still with your parents. All because he was so worried about you that he needed an outlet. So what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing! I’m fine! Just busy!”

Her answers were quick and snappy, fingers tightening their grip around her cup.

“I thought we had an agreement to talk about our problems.”

“There’s nothing to talk about if I don’t have a problem!” she snapped, fixing a glare at him.

There was a small moment of silence as Wally’s mind caught up.

She was getting angry.

She hated being angry.

Heroes weren’t supposed to scare people.

Without a word, she got to her feet and stormed out of Jitters, letting the door slam closed behind her.

“And she’s gone…” Artemis muttered. “No way we’re catching her now. Nice going, Boy Wonder.”

“I’m trying to employ your tough love technique a little. I don’t think it worked as well as it does for you,” Robin said, throwing out his empty cup. “But she hasn’t gotten far. If she really didn’t want us to follow her, she would have ran as soon as she was out that door.”

“We will catch up with both of you in a bit,” Kaldur said.

“I’ll let you guys know when I’ve got her calmed down. But I better hurry before I actually can’t catch up to her.”

Robin hurried out of Jitters, spotting Wally just up the street and running to catch up to her.

“Hey, wait!” he called out, grabbing her hand as he closed in on her. “Wait for me, okay?”

“I don’t have anything to talk about,” she said, not bothering to slow down.

But she didn’t pull her hand from his.

He took that as a good sign.

“That’s okay. But you really do deserve a break. Why don’t we go walk around the museums for a bit?”

“There’s no new exhibits…”

“Do they need to have one for us to visit them?”

“...Guess not.”

He smiled and led her to the Flash museum, paying for their tickets and pulling her into the first exhibit.

“If Captain Cold’s gun is here, then what is he using out there?” Robin asked as they looked at the collection of villain weapons.

“Sometimes he breaks in and steals this one, but I think he has another one.”

She answered dutifully, but she seemed distracted.

As if she wasn’t really thinking about what Robin was saying and starting to get lost in her own thoughts.

“They must have terrible security if he breaks in to steal it often.”

“Guess so. The Flash stops him before he gets too far, though, so it’s not that big of a deal.”

He nodded, still holding onto her hand.

He noticed a particular trophy from a battle, familiar arrows still embedded in it.

“Hey, what’s this one from? It’s got arrows stuck in it.”

She blinked and looked over, her eyes darkening slightly at what he was asking about.

“Green Arrow and Speedy happened to be in the area and helped us out with taking down a villain. The police couldn’t get the arrows out, so they just put it in the museum as is. Nothing fancy or anything like that.”

“Oh, I see,” he mumbled, taking in her expression and carefully planning out his next question. “So how has Roy been lately? I haven’t heard from him since New Years.”

She tensed up, gripping his hand to the point where it hurt.

He heard her suck in a sharp breath, as if she was ready to either cry or scream, but couldn’t in such a public place.

“...We can come back with the Team. Let’s go outside, okay? Somewhere quiet.”

When she didn’t respond, he simply started walking toward the exit.

She followed, still keeping her grip on his hand.

Once they were outside and somewhere out of sight, he stopped walking and turned toward her.

She didn’t say anything just yet, but he could see that she was close to breaking.

So he dealt the final blow to her already fragile armor.

“He left again, didn’t he?”

The dam broke.

Tears pooled and fell from her eyes in a matter of seconds as she sobbed and cried loudly.

“A-After all we did to help him…!” she sobbed. “H-H-He just left again t-to go look for the real Roy H-Harper…!”

“Well, he’s still an asshole, then. He clearly didn’t learn his lesson from the first time.”

A small pause, and then

“But what else is upsetting you?”

“Everything!” she practically shouted. “Everything that happened during New Years doesn’t feel real and afterwards we got slammed with work that the League didn’t want to do themselves, so they pushed it onto the two smartest members of the Team without even thinking about how it would affect two children still in school! Not to mention, I don’t think I’ve had a good night’s sleep in god knows how long, and I barely see anyone in what little free time I have because I use that to try and sleep!”

“Which hasn’t been working.”

“Which hasn’t been working because I have a fuck ton of unfinished work and Batman keeps bothering me about the fucking files! And to top it all off, Roy just fucked off on his own in the middle of the night to go look for someone who may or may not even be alive! Guardian said they searched Cadmus and didn’t find anything, so there’s no guarantee the real Roy Harper is even still alive! Why would they keep him alive, anyway?! That crazy doctor guy said he was gonna kill us and let clones of ourselves invade the Team and the League!”

Robin nodded, letting her rant to him and putting in a few observations and comments as she went along.

Once she had calmed down a bit, he gave another nod.

“Okay, I get it. Seriously, I do. But one, you forgot that we still need to talk about our problems, no matter how stupid you think they are. And two, you can ask for help. That’s what we’re all here for, y’know? Especially me. We’ve got a deeper relationship than anyone on the Team.”

She pouted, shoving her hands in her pockets.

“...I guess asking for help isn’t too bad… As long as Kaldur tells me where he put the coffee pot. I know it’s still in Mount Justice somewhere.”

He laughed, grinning at her.

“I think we can swing that. Are you feeling better yet?”

“A little…”

“Well, let’s meet back up with the Team. I’ll buy us another drink and you can freak Raquel out with your immense knowledge of everything in the museums.”

“Oh, yeah, she hasn’t had the chance to listen to me info dump yet.”

“Don’t freak her out so much that she doesn’t want to hang out with us again, though.”

“That’s her problem if she can’t handle me.”

“So, who wants to make a guess on why they haven’t labelled their relationship yet?” Artemis asked once they were at the museum.

Wally was excitedly jabbering away about the exhibit they were in to Raquel, Robin standing nearby and laughing at Raquel’s face.

“Commitment issues?” Zatanna suggested.

“They’ve been best friends for years,” Conner said. “Maybe they don’t want a label.”

“Or they  _ have  _ labelled it and just haven’t said anything!” M’gann said.

“Hmm…”

Artemis turned to Kaldur, raising a brow.

“You’ve been quiet. What’re your thoughts?”

“They are waiting for the other to say it first,” Kaldur said.

“Say what first?” M’gann asked.

“Not another competition…” Zatanna said with a fond smile.

“They are waiting each other out to see who calls each other their boyfriend or girlfriend first.”

“Ugh! Those two, I swear…!”


	42. Of Celebrations and New Teammates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo!!
> 
> I hope everyone is having a good new year so far!
> 
> Friendly reminder that I have a Chapter Playlist here and a Character/Moment Playlist here!

Wally took a deep breath from behind the curtain, steeling her nerves.

This wasn’t her first public appearance and it certainly wouldn’t be her last.

But this was the first time she was being properly featured for her own city day.

Kid Flash Day.

It had a nice ring to it.

But she was nervous.

So nervous that she called all of her friends the night before to make sure they’d all be in the crowd to support her and put her at ease.

Now all she had to do was wait until her cue to run on stage and give her little speech before the festivities started.

How Barry did this every year, she’d never know.

Previous years only had her standing next to Barry for Flash Day.

This would be the first time she would be in the spotlight with her uncle and mentor taking the sidelines.

“...And now, let me introduce my protege and the yellow-clad speedster you all love so much! Kid Flash!”

Cheers followed Barry’s introduction of her, Wally putting on a smile and running on stage.

She stepped up to the podium, quickly scanning the crowd for her friends.

She easily spotted Conner first, then Kaldur, and then the rest of the Team.

And someone unfamiliar standing next to Robin.

A redheaded girl that smiled warmly at her.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she grinned and turned her attention to the crowd.

“Hey, good morning, everyone! I can’t believe I get a whole day dedicated to someone like me!”

The crowd cheered, Wally grinning as she rubbed the back of her neck.

She knew she was popular, but this was something else.

As she improvised a speech - Barry told her he never writes one down for himself and she was probably the same as him - she heard a commotion from right in front of the stage.

She looked to see a little redheaded girl trying to climb onto the stage, donned in a yellow dress with a red tutu.

“Oh!” Wally said, genuinely surprised as she rushed over and picked the girl up before anyone else could grab her, a wide smile on her face. “Harper!!”

“Kid Flash!!”

“What are you doing in Central City? I thought you were still in Happy Harbor!” Wally asked, speech forgotten for now.

“My Mommom and Poppop said we’re gonna live here now!”

“Oh, I see. Well, let me finish up my speech and then I’ll introduce you to my friends, okay?”

“Yeah!”

Wally smiled at her, carrying her over to the podium and finishing up her speech.

The festivities started, Wally finding a quiet place to meet up with her friends.

And Harper’s grandparents.

“We cannot thank you enough, Kid Flash, for saving our granddaughter.”

Wally laughed and shook her head dismissively.

“I saw myself in Harper, so of course I wasn’t going to let that continue! No need to thank me!”

“Harper talks about you all the time, you know. Would it be too much trouble to let her hang around you for today?”

“No trouble at all! Me and my friends will take good care of her.”

With that matter settled, Harper’s grandparents walked off.

“So I’m gonna see Superboy and Artemis again?” Harper asked.

“Yep! But just remember that they’re gonna be in disguise, so make sure you keep any secret identities a secret, okay?” Wally said, smiling and putting a finger to her lips, giving Harper a wink.

“Okay…!”

“Yo, KF!” Robin called out as the Team approached. “I see your number one fan came to your big day.”

“Yeah, I was super surprised! But I’m glad you guys showed up. I was so nervous before I got on stage…”

Harper looked around at all the new faces surrounding her and Wally, spotting a familiar one just behind Robin.

“Artemis!! Hi, Artemis!” she said excitedly.

“Hello, Harper! I heard you’re moving to Central!” Artemis greeted with a smile. “Is that because your favorite hero lives here?”

“Yeah!!”

Wally chuckled, gladly handing Harper to Artemis.

“So, Rob, who’s your friend?”

“So glad you asked, KF. This is Babs. She’s going to be training with the Team for a bit before officially joining.”

“Babs, huh? It’s nice to meet you. We can do proper introductions after I manage to get away from all of this. The attention will drift over to the Flash eventually like it always does.”

“If you don’t stop underestimating yourself, I’m going to write all over the Superman notebooks,” Conner said.

An empty threat, of course.

“You say that, but you’ve never been to an event like this. The attention is always going to go to the Flash. Plus, he knows you guys are here, so he’ll give me time to bail and get changed.”

“After we’re done with Harper, right?” Robin said.

“Yep! We’ll probably tire her out in no time, though. Excitement usually wears a kid out faster than normal.”

“Are these your friends, Kid Flash??” Harper asked.

“Yep! I did tell you I was friends with Robin and Aqualad, right? Remember to keep it a secret since they’re not in their hero outfits.”

“Nice to meet KF’s number one fan,” Robin said, smirking and gently shaking Harper’s hand. “I’m Robin.”

Harper seemed starstruck, nodding excitedly and grinning widely.

Robin laughed a bit, glancing at Kaldur and gesturing with his head for him to come over.

“This is Aqualad. Good friend of ours. Deals with all of our nonsense.”

“Nonsense as it may be, I must admit I do instigate some of it. It is a pleasure to meet you, Harper. Kid has spoken very highly of you.”

“Hey, Rob,” Wally whispered, pulling him aside to talk with him. “Did you bring my spare set? My goggles have been on the fritz lately.”

“I always come prepared, KF. Here,” he said, handing her the spare goggles he modified for her.

Both pairs were identical save for the strap of the spare being black instead of red.

“I couldn’t find elastic that was the same color as your main pair, so you’ll have to deal with black for now. Need me to take a look at the broken ones?”

“No. I have a different idea for them,” she said, smiling and swapping out the goggles on her head.

Robin smirked and shook his head slightly, following her back over to the Team and Harper.

“Hey, Harper, I have something for you.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll give it to you, but you have to close your eyes first.”

“C’mon, don’t tease her,” Artemis said.

“I’m not teasing! This is… just how I received gifts for a little while, so I think it’s fun.”

“I’ll close my eyes!!” Harper said excitedly, covering them for good measure.

“See? She likes doing it, too,” Wally said, smiling more and adjusting her broken goggles so they were much smaller, carefully fitting them onto Harper’s head. “Okay, and… go ahead and open your eyes.”

Harper peeked through her fingers, reaching up with one hand to gently touch the goggles.

“Woah!”

Harper grinned, pulling the goggles down over her eyes.”

“This is so cool! And I can have these?”

“Yep. They’re yours now. Make sure you take good care of them. I’ve had them for a long time.”

“Thank you, Kid Flash!!”

Wally grinned, looking genuinely happy at the thanks she was getting from one little girl.

“So, with all the dramatics and such out of the way, let’s go check out what they’ve got set up at the stands!”

She took Harper from Artemis, running ahead and following her nose to the food stands.

“You think we should try everything, Harper?”

“Everything!!”

“Everything it is!”

With her friends trailing behind at a much slower rate, Wally managed to hit every single stand with Harper, slowing down herself as Harper eventually fell asleep in her arms.

“Mid-afternoon. Not bad, Walls, not bad…” she mumbled to herself, finding Harper’s grandparents and returning her to them.

“Alright, kiddo,” Barry said once they were alone. “I’ll finish up everything here. You go get changed and hang out with your friends.”

“Best part of the day, honestly. I’ll be home later…”

She ran off, changing quickly and stuffing her suit and goggles into her backpack before running back to meet with her friends.

“Okay! So, I promised an actual introduction earlier! Hi, Babs! I’m Wally West!” Wally said, grinning and holding out her hand for Babs to shake.

Babs giggled a bit, gladly shaking her hand.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Robin. My name’s Barbara Gordan, but you can call me Babs. I also go by Batgirl.”

“Oh, so that’s how Rob knows you! Interesting! So what’re your thoughts on Rob finally starting to get taller?”

“KF!”

“What? It’s a compliment! You’re finally growing!”

“It is good that he’s finally starting to get taller. He’s been wearing the same size school uniform for as long as I’ve known him!” Babs said, laughing when Robin let out an embarrassed noise. “Oh, while I’m thinking about it, where did Jaybird run off to? I thought we brought him along for introductions.”

“He didn’t like crowds, so I told him to wait at Jitters until we were able to get away,” Robin said. “We better hurry over before he tries to steal the hubcaps off of another car.”

“What do you mean ‘another car’?” Wally asked.

“Jay may have… tried to steal the hubcaps off of the Batmobile while we were on patrol a few months ago… Batman took him in and he’s been training to take over the Robin mantle.”

“Wow, that’s a ballsy move. Guess we should make sure he’s not being a little criminal. Babs, do you like coffee?”

“I like it, but definitely not as much as Robin,” she said. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, boy, KF’s got two more drinks to order now.”

“I still can’t believe it only took her two tries to get it right for me,” Raquel said. “All I told her was that it wasn’t sweet enough and the next time she took a Jitters trip, she had it exactly how I like it.”

“Oh! Well, if you’re going to order drinks, I like-”

“Don’t tell her,” the Team said.

“...Why?”

“KF likes to take a guess at what you like,” Robin explained. “You just have to tell her if anything needs to be changed or adjusted. But she’s usually spot on.”

“Oh, I see… I think…”

“You’ll get used to it. KF’s got a lot of quirks that take some time to adjust to.”

Wally led the way to Jitters, stepping inside and immediately making a beeline for the baristas.

“Wait…!” Babs started to protest, but she was already out of earshot. “Oh, but she hasn’t even met Jaybird yet! How can she order a drink for him?”

“She has a grasp on his personality, so she’ll go off of that. Speaking of our Jaybird…”

“I thought I said not to call me that…” a grumbling, young-sounding voice said from nearby. “That’s not my name and you know it…”

“Aw, but the rest of us have nicknames,” Robin teased lightly. “Be nice. You’re getting a special drink made for you and you don’t even have to pay for it.”

The kid pouted, narrowing his eyes slightly at Robin before glancing over at where Wally was still ordering drinks.

“...Is that your girlfriend?”

“Yes, who told you that?”

“Alfred. And Babs. She also told me you haven’t actually called her your girlfriend to her face.”

“That’s because they’re being stupidly competitive and seeing who will break first,” Artemis said. “Honestly, this is not something that should be a competition.”

“Can’t help it. While we’ve been partners for years, we also have a competitive streak. Kon and Kaldur encourage it, so complain to them.”

“Kaldur, you’ve gotta stop, dude.”

“As long as they are not hurting themselves or anyone else, I do not see a problem with it,” Kaldur said.

“We have a bet going on, on who will crack first,” Conner explained. “I’m betting on Wally in the heat of battle.”

“Robin has been known to say things out of nowhere if properly prompted.”

“But Wally gets impatient quicker.”

“Untrue, but okay.”

“I’m back with the caffeine!” Wally announced, carrying two cup carriers with coffee drinks in them. “Oh, you must be Jaybird!”

“Is that how you two introduced me?” he grumbled.

“That’s the only name I know! Here!” she said, smiling despite his attitude as she handed him a drink. “Let me know how you like it, okay? If you want anything changed, I’ll make sure to get it for next time.”

He hesitantly took the cup, watching her carefully as he took a sip.

“What do you say?” Babs and Robin said together.

“...Thank you…”

Wally brightened, passing out the rest of the drinks before taking a sip of her own.

“So, what  _ is  _ your name if it’s not Jaybird?”

“...Jason Todd…”

“Jason, then! How’s your drink? Did I hit the nail on the head for what you like?” she asked, watching him just as carefully as he was watching her.

“...It’s scary how you knew what I liked before meeting me.”

“I’m pretty good at reading people. Plus, a little criminal like you deserves a drink like that. I’m Wally West.”

“I know about you.”

“That’s good. Are you training with the Team, too?”

“...Yes.”

“That’s good!” Wally said, still smiling at him, though she soon turned her attention to Robin. “So, when you said Jason would be taking up your mantle… what does that mean for you?”

“I’ll be graduating to a new mantle and starting a more rigorous training regime while back home. Once Jay is ready to take on the Robin mantle, I’ll start using my new one.”

“That’s also why Batman is having us train with the Team before having us join,” Babs added. “He wants to see how well we’ll work with your already established dynamic and how well you all adapt. We were told that… new members tend to throw a wrench into things sometimes and that he’ll start introducing members slowly…”

“Ah, he told you about the infamous Artemis intro incident,” Robin said with a smirk. “What a mess that day was.”

“In my defense, I was already having a bad day and everything else just made it worse,” Wally said.

“I heard about that one,” Zatanna said. “But my introduction wasn’t much better for you, Wally. The rest of the Team were being bullies while we looked for Red.”

Robin snorted and laughed.

“Trust me, Z, your intro went much better than Artie’s. At least KF was willing to talk to you like a normal person.”

“I had attachment issues! Leave me alone!” Wally protested, pouting slightly.

This started a round of bickering between Wally and Robin, though everyone present knew neither of them meant it.

“Jeez, this is a lot…” Jason muttered.

“You get used to it,” Kaldur said softly, smiling fondly at his friends. “I have known Kid and Robin for years now and they are always like this…”

“She’s pretty weird.”

“That is simply what makes her ‘Kid’. She will show off her quirks whether you like them or not.”

Kaldur smiled more, glancing down at Jason.

“And we would not have it any other way.”


	43. You Broke First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm so frustrated that I couldn't update "yesterday's" chapter yesterday because a MCYT rpf fanfic updated and everyone crashed the site.

No one on the Team should be surprised when a mission starts to go south.

They should have been used to it by now.

They get a mission that sounds simple on paper, but is really messy in practice.

It didn’t help that they had their two newest Team members - Batgirl and Jason (who was going by Jaybird purely because he hadn’t gained the Robin mantle just yet) - were officially joining them on their first mission as Teammates.

So that added two more people that needed roles in an already well oiled machine.

It was just supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission.

Get the intel and get out with hopefully no confrontation.

But it never works out that easily.

_ Kid, get out of there! _

_ I’m trying! But I can’t find the exit! _

Wally was trapped in what felt like a labyrinth under the building they were in, feeling as if she had been running in circles.

It didn’t help that something was jamming her wrist computer down there so she couldn’t even track her Teammates to get out.

_ What do you see, Kid? _

_ Everything looks the same! It’s all concrete walls and lights that are evenly spaced along the walls! There’s no doors! _

_ There has to be a door somewhere, KF. You got in there somehow, so you can get out just the same. Relax and take a deep breath. _

_ I’m having trouble tracking her wrist computer, but I’m getting a blip every now and then. _

_ Babs, is there any way you can get my location?? _

_ What if we found out whatever is causing the disruption and turn it off so we can get a better signal? _

_ Great idea, Jaybird. Let’s get on that. _

So this left Wally to keep running through the halls, hoping to find an exit or anything except these empty walls.

She was running low on energy and had forgotten to check her snack compartments before they left.

So she had nothing to refuel with.

Eventually, she slowed down to conserve what little energy she had, glancing around nervously as she walked.

It was eerily quiet, only the sound of her footsteps echoing off of the walls.

It was weird how she got down here to begin with.

She had been chasing a villain that had been heckling her Teammates and they went down a set of steps to this place.

As soon as Wally had stepped foot in this place, it almost seemed like the door had disappeared and the layout was ever changing.

As she continued to pick directions to walk in, she heard something behind her.

Another set of footsteps, almost perfectly matching her own.

But she was an irregular walker and her footsteps were strange and a bit stuttery.

So whoever was following her couldn’t keep up.

She stopped and turned slightly to look behind her.

She didn’t see anything or anyone.

_ I feel like I’m in a horror movie right now… _

_ Remain calm, Kid. _

_ There’s someone else in here… _

_ Don’t be that person in the horror movie, weirdo. Don’t be stupid. _

_ I’m gonna make such a stupid horror movie move right now. _

She took in a breath, readying herself for whatever would happen next.

“Hello?” she called out, prepared to run or fight.

There was no verbal response, but she could hear something shuffling in the darkness just down the hall.

“Hello?? Is someone there?”

Still no answer from the darkness.

_ Hang tight, KF. We’ve called in League reinforcements. _

_ They better get here soon. I’m starting to get- _

Her thought was cut off as something slammed into her while her back was turned.

And whatever it was sent her flying down the hall.

_ KF?! _

_ Kid?! Are you alright?! _

Whatever had hit her before hit the small of her back, slamming her face first into the floor.

With a wet cough, Wally hauled herself to her feet, her suit torn in multiple places from the rubble and blood dribbling out of her nose, down her forehead and cheek, and out of her lip.

“What the fu-”

Another hit from her unknown aggressor sent her into the wall, a sizable crack and crater left from her impact.

She coughed again, wiping away a bit of the blood from her mouth and spitting out some more.

“This isn’t that fair of a fight, you bastard…” she rasped, pulling her goggles down and switching to threat detection.

“But maybe I can level the playing field a bit…”

**BEHIND YOU** flashed in her goggles, Wally turning quickly and throwing a punch.

Her fist connected with something, giving her enough time to put some distance between them.

“So you  _ are  _ real… Time for a fair fight.”

“I can’t even pinpoint what’s disrupting comms down there,” Jason said, frowning as he, Babs, and Robin gathered around his wrist computer to look. “But from what I can see from the little glimpses of her location, she’s been stuck in the same area for a while. Whatever was following her caught up.”

“Then we’ll need to extract her as fast as we can,” Babs said. “Robin, how long until the League gets here?”

“Shouldn’t be long now. While we’re waiting, Z is trying to cast spells to see inside and guide KF to an exit. M’gann tried phasing into the area, but couldn’t for some reason.”

“What about Superboy?” Jason asked.

“Kaldur is keeping him as an absolute last resort to break through the floor and pull her out.”

“I hope she’s doing okay down there by herself…” Babs mumbled.

“KF’s tougher than she looks. She can hold out until help arrives.”

“Is that all you’ve got?! I can do this all day!” Wally shouted, a grin on her face despite the dirt and blood.

She wasn’t quite losing the battle with the villain, but she wasn’t quite winning either.

“Come at me, you bastard! I’m not done yet!”

There was no response.

Not even another hit or anything.

“Don’t try and hide! We’re not done until you let me out of here!” she called out, taking shaky steps forward and looking around for the villain.

The walls around her rumbled, Wally stopping to brace herself.

“Uh oh…”

“We can’t waste anymore time!” Conner argued. “She can hold her own, but she’s going to run out of energy eventually! And she’s not that strong!”

“I understand your worry, but we must wait until the League arrives before we take any actions. Just be patient for a little-”

The ground rumbled beneath their feet, the building shaking heavily as the tremors got worse.

“Everyone away from the building!” Kaldur ordered, backing away as the building shook more and more.

“What is going on?” demanded a familiar deep voice.

The Team’s mentors had arrived, Flash darting between each of the kids.

“Where’s my protege?” he asked, stopping in front of Robin.

Robin pointed at the building.

“She’s stuck in some kind of labyrinth with a villain. Comms were jammed and she couldn’t find the exit.”

“It sounds like that building is about to come down,” Superman observed. “We’re sure there’s no way to get Kid Flash out before then?”

“We have exhausted our options,” Kaldur said grimly.

“All we can do is wait for the building to come down and find her in the rubble,” Batman said.

The building did collapse.

But they didn’t have to do any searching to find Wally.

The villain was standing in the middle of the rubble, his hand grasping Wally’s face and holding her limp body up like a trophy.

“Kid!!” Flash called out, rushing forward without a plan.

The Team and the League launched an all out attack to try and get Wally back.

But the villain was using her as a shield and a bargaining chip for his freedom.

“Let go of my girlfriend!” Robin shouted, jumping up to attack again.

He was easily grabbed out of the air by the villain and tossed aside.

Suddenly, Wally’s hands came up, grabbing at the villain’s hand.

One hand pushed at his palm to get him to let go while the other kept a grip on his wrist.

“Can’t go down when Rob says stuff like that…!” she rasped, grinning maniacally as she kicked the villain’s chest, causing him to let her go and drop her to the ground.

She groaned loudly as she hit the ground, managing to get onto her stomach and push herself up onto her feet.

She limped over to Robin, holding out her hand to him.

“I get bragging rights now,” she said with a small smirk.

Robin rolled his eyes, matching her smirk.

“It got you back into the action, didn’t it? Speaking of action,” he said, allowing her to help him to his feet. “You’re going back to the Bio-ship so we can see how bad the damage is.”

“At least I won’t have to deal with that asshole anymore… Pretty sure he could manipulate the structure of the basement so I couldn’t get out.”

“Explains a lot. C’mon, I’ll drag you back to the Bio-ship and get you checked out.”

“I think I can drag myself, but you can help if you want.”

He smiled slightly at her, resting her arm over his shoulders and wrapping his free arm around her waist to help support her as they limped toward the Bio-ship.

“Okay…” Robin mumbled, helping her onto the table that the Bio-ship created for them, a back forming so Wally could sit up. “Let’s get your face cleaned up so we can see how much external damage was done and then we’ll move on to me poking around at your ribs.”

“Oh, the fun part of post-mission medical examinations…”

“Always is. Especially when they hit that one broken or fractured bone in your body and you have to pretend it didn’t hurt as much as it did.”

“That’s just you. I make my pain well known.”

Robin snorted in amusement as he helped her clean off most of the blood and dirt.

“Have you ever heard SB getting a post-mission examination? He just deadpans ‘Ow’ when you hit a sore spot.”

“Sounds like something he’d do… Hey, I think I might have a concussion.”

“That’s no good. Make sure you don’t fall asleep on me.”

“No promises. You better have a good conversation ready to keep me going until we get me to a hospital.”

“I’m sure everyone will keep you awake and alert. Plus, Barry will be worrying too much to let you sleep anyway.”

“Ugh, I’ve gotta deal with a worried uncle now… I won’t be able to do anything by myself until the doctor gives me the all clear…”

Robin laughed as he patched up her cuts and scrapes.

“Well, we’ll get you checked out. Who knows? You might be fine. No broken bones and no major injuries, all things considered. I think that extra padding on your costume did wonders to protect you this time around.”

“That’s good. Hopefully, I don’t have a concussion, though. I hate being confined to bed because of one.”

“Fair enough. But from what I can see, you’re gonna be fine.”

He leaned up - not as much as he had to before, thanks puberty - and kissed her cheek affectionately.

“Gross. Get a room, you two,” Jason said, sticking his tongue out in disgust as the rest of the Team boarded the Bio-ship.

“Excuse you, we were having a moment.”

“Have a moment later. We’ve got orders to bring Kid Flash back to Mount Justice and get her x-rayed and get a brain scan done. Mostly to shut up the Flash.”

“But also to make sure she’s okay after having a building drop on her,” Babs added.

“It would not be the first time we’ve had a building brought down on us,” Kaldur said with a fond smile. “Our invasion of Cadmus ended with the entire building collapsing on us.”

“To be fair, we meant for that to happen that time around,” Robin said.

“Plus, we got our awesome Teammate, Kon! The League was super mad at us, though, since we were supposed to stay in the Hall of Justice…” Wally added, smiling slightly and rubbing the back of her neck.

“Yeah, if Kaldur had been just a little more forceful in his decisions, maybe we wouldn’t have met SB and ended up forming the Team. Who knows? There might be a timeline out there where that very thing happened and we’re all different people.”

“Pretty sure I would’ve tried to rob the Batmobile no matter what,” Jason said.

“Truly a little criminal, Jaybird,” Wally said. “We should let him into our Trouble Trio. Make it a Trouble Quartet.”

“What’s a Trouble Trio?”

“Z, KF, and I all cause chaos together in different ways, so we’ve decided to put our heads together and torment people together. But we’re always open to having more people join.”

“Don’t encourage them…” Artemis said, sounding tired.

Zatanna giggled and leaned over so she could whisper to Jason.

“We have way more fun than the others. Just so you know.”

“...I’ll think about it. We should focus on making sure Kid Flash is okay before anything else.”

“Aw, Jaybird cares about us!” Wally said, grinning and laughed when she was shot a look.

They’d be alright.

Teamwork took time to perfect.


	44. Old Friends

“Hey, kiddo, I’ve got a mission for you,” Barry said, smiling when Wally immediately hurried over, effectively abandoning any conversations she was having with her friends.

“Batgirl, Robin, Jason. This concerns you three as well,” Batman said.

“Must be an intelligence mission…” Robin heard Artemis mutter as they walked away.

“So what’s up?” Robin asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You four will be infiltrating enemy lines and extracting as much intel as you can possibly get your hands on,” Batman explained. “And you will have League backup to provide any necessary distractions. We had two volunteers to help you out.”

“Who are we getting?” Wally asked, still excited. “Is it Red? Tell me it’s Red!”

“Red Tornado and Doctor Fate have both volunteered to assist you in this mission. Remember that despite this being a Team mission, you will obey any orders they give you.”

“Understood. Send the location or locations to KF and I and we’ll take it from there.”

Batman nodded, dismissing the four to get ready for their mission.

Both Wally and Robin’s wrist computers alerted them to the locations sent, revealing that they had gotten four.

“Works out easily enough. One location per person.”

“Probably easier to split up the work and then run on over to help someone else if we finish up early.”

_ Recognized Red Tornado 16, Doctor Fate 17 _

“Red! Just in time! We were going over our game plan!” Wally said, grinning at the two Justice League members.

“Your excitement to see us still baffles me, Kid Flash,” Nabu said, glancing down at her. “I will be accompanying you personally to whichever location you are assigned.”

“Why the sudden interest in KF, Doctor Fate?” Robin asked, looking at the locations they were sent.

“I have heard the rumors of her connection to the speedforce. I am hoping to see it triggered on this mission.”

“Well, good luck with that. We haven’t spoken much since last year.”

“How do you talk with something like the speedforce?” Jason asked.

“I’ll tell you about it later. Rob, do coordinate roulette!”

“Already on it. Batgirl, Jaybird, you’ll get one of the locations selected at random uploaded to your wrist computers. Keep your comms on channel 16 to stay in touch.”

As if on cue, their wrist computers beeped, each one getting a set of coordinates.

“Well, if we’ve got our locations all good to go, I guess we’ll head out,” Wally said, turning toward the Zeta tube. “C’mon, Nabu! Let’s go see if you get a chance to talk with the speedforce!”

“Do not call me Nabu, Kid Flash.”

“Doctor Fate sounds too formal, though!”

“Unless you become a League member, you will not call me Nabu.”

“That sounds like a challenge!”

“It was not meant to be one…”

She laughed as they stepped into the Zeta tubes, stepping out just outside of their target location.

“Okay, so this is a relatively small building. No signs of extra activities underground…” she mumbled, half to herself as she scanned everything with her goggles. “I should be in and out in no time. Not many heat signatures lingering around in there, either…”

“This feels like a trap,” Nabu said.

“Totally does. Watch my back while I run inside and get what we need?”

“Of course. I will alert you to any threats coming your way.”

She grinned, switching to her stealth tech and running ahead inside the building.

She felt like she got lucky with her coordinates roulette.

The building was practically empty.

She hummed a bit as she downloaded any data she could get off of the computers, keeping an eye out for anyone that might come into the room.

This was easy.

Maybe a bit too easy, but she wasn’t going to complain.

Once she was sure that she had gotten everything she could, she ran out of the building to meet back up with Nabu.

“Okay, I’m done. I doubt the others are finished, though. I got the best possible outcome for the roulette…”

“While we wait for confirmation that they have finished, I wish to speak with the speedforce.”

Wally laughed a bit.

“And I told you that I haven’t talked with them since last year! I could try asking, but I dunno-”

She stopped speaking for a moment, eyes glazing over before brightening again with the gaze of someone that had seen more than the young speedster herself.

“Phew… Our apologies, Wally West, but we must commandeer your body once again. But we will ensure you remember this one,” she said, the inflection of her voice different from before.

She sounded more mature and less like… well, less like Wally.

She smiled at Nabu, placing a hand on her hip.

“Nabu… To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“So it is true that you can possess Kid Flash. But for what reason do you insist on communicating with this girl?”

“Wally West is a… strange case, indeed. Her future is muddled and we cannot see her after a certain point on her timeline. That point intersects with the tragedy that cannot be stopped in her future.”

“I know well of what Fate lies in her path. But what does this have to do with your involvement with her?”

“...We have been assisting in her recovery after what her parents had done. You must understand that Wally West did not understand much of what would have been considered common social knowledge for quite some time. We helped, but lessened our impact after she met Robin and Kaldur’ahm. And then later, the Team.”

Nabu blinked behind the helmet.

“You have never been one to refer to people by anything other than their names. Why is Robin any different?”

She chuckled softly and waved her hand dismissively.

“Just a force of habit. We are aware that Wally West is the only Team member to know of Dick Grayson’s true identity. However, we suppose we should include Jason Todd and Barbara Gordon in that count now. What fascinating characters… We were thinking of having some fun with them since Jason Todd is doubtful that Wally West can talk with us.”

“You have absorbed some of Kid Flash’s personality, I see. You have never been one to be such a trickster before.”

“When you have been around as long as we have, you ache for some fun. We are older than you, Nabu. Do not forget. We oversaw your father’s evolution in this world.”

“I am very aware.”

_ Yo, KF! You done on your end? So we can meet up and head back? _

“Yes, Robin, we are done,” she said over the comms, grinning at the confused sounds Jason and Babs made.

_ Aw shit… Why are you like this? Just… meet us at my location and we can talk about what you want. _

“Understood. We shall be there shortly.”

She chuckled and held her hand out to Nabu.

“Shall we? We shouldn’t keep the children waiting, after all.”

“That would be rude.”

“We think we liked you better with Kent Nelson. This Zatara does not seem to have as much of a sense of humor.”

“There is no going back to Kent Nelson.”

“A shame. We expect you to tell us a joke the next time we happen to speak.”

“I will… make the attempt.”

She smiled more, clearly pleased with this as Nabu transported them to Robin’s location.

“Hello, Robin,” she greeted cheerfully. “A pleasure seeing you again, as always.”

“A little warning before you possess my girlfriend would be nice,” Robin said, frowning slightly.

“Apologies. We were trying to mess with both Wally West and Nabu. And your new Teammates as well. Nabu is not taking jokes this time around, unfortunately.”

“Let me guess. Kent Nelson gave him a sense of humor last time.”

“Astute observation, Robin. Would you care to introduce us to your friends?”

Robin sighed softly, turning to the dumbfounded Jason and Babs.

“Batgirl, Jaybird, this is the speedforce possessing Wally’s body. Yes, it’s kinda weird. Yes, they do it without warning. Yes, it’s really obvious when they do because they talk like that.”

“...Oh, so that’s what she meant when she said she could talk with the speedforce…” Jason muttered. “Interesting and extremely weird. Do you talk with any other speedsters?”

“We have attempted to! But they were not as open to us as Wally West. We have continued our attempts to no avail. Barry Allen is truly a stubborn person…”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s where KF gets it from.”

“Wally West is stubborn as well, yes, but she is never stubborn enough to block us out intentionally.”

“So, is this how you talk to other people outside of her?” Babs asked.

“Sometimes, yes! If M’gann M’orzz is around and given ample warning, she will link everyone’s minds so they can hear and see us in Wally West’s mind. But this is better for one on one conversations.”

“So, why are you here now?” Robin asked.

“Nabu wished to speak with us and who are we to deny him? But unfortunately, it seems as if Wally West is getting impatient with not having control of her body, so we must go for now. Until next time.”

She smiled and gave a small faux salute before her arm dropped back to her side and her eyes glazed over for a brief moment.

And then Wally was back.

“A little warning would be nice!” she said to no one in particular. “Jeez, sometimes I swear they think I’m not doing anything when they want to talk.”

“Tell me about it,” Robin said. “They know they don’t act like you and it freaks everyone out when suddenly it’s your voice over the comms, but you’re not talking like you.”

“Why do they refer to themselves as ‘we’ and ‘us’?” Jason asked. “They’re not more than one entity, are they?”

“No, the speedforce is a single entity,” Nabu said. “However, they have chosen to use those nomenclatures in order to differentiate themselves from mortals and others. It was a conscious choice made by them.”

“So they’re always like… that?”

“No. It seems Kid Flash has had quite the effect on their personality over the years. More specifically, she has given the speedforce a personality.”

“I know you’ve known the speedforce longer than any of us,” Wally said. “But what do you mean by that?”

“They have never asked me to tell them a joke upon our next meeting before. Nor have they judged my own personality based off my host.”

“Yeah, they did say Kent Nelson was funnier…” Wally muttered. “And I’ll have to agree with them on that one.”

“There is nothing to be done now that Kent Nelson is gone.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Now is not the time to argue about that, child,” Nabu said. “If we have completed our mission, we must report to Batman at once.”

Wally stuck her tongue out playfully at him, smirking slightly as they made their way back to Mount Justice.


	45. Waste Her Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A really short one this time around, but I have an idea for a plot that could span a few chapters.
> 
> And it may or may not have been inspired by the fact that I've been playing Arkham Knight for the past few days (hence the lack of updates).
> 
> ((It was the entire Arkham series. Arkham Origins is the worst, imo))

Wally tried to keep her frustrations inside.

She really couldn’t blame her classmates for needing the extra long tutoring sessions since finals were coming up and of course no one studied on their own like she suggested many times.

But she’d honestly rather be hanging out with her friends than sitting here in the stuffy library trying (and mostly failing) to get her classmates to understand everything they’d need to know for the upcoming finals.

“Honestly, the finals next year are going to be even worse, guys…” she said, gesturing to the set of sample problems she had walked them through. “You should really be studying this stuff on your own after these sessions. I’m not always going to be around to teach it to you. Does anyone still not understand this equation?”

Multiple hands went up.

Wally suppressed an exasperated sigh.

This was going to be a long evening…

“Hey, where’s Wally?” Babs asked, looking around the room. “She’s usually here before we get here.”

“KF’s been having extra long tutoring sessions since finals are coming up,” Robin said, not looking up from his phone. “Seems like she’s got her hands full, so unless there’s an emergency, she’s probably not coming.”

“Finals? But… it’s not the end of the school year yet.”

“Kid starts school in August, so she is released for summer break before the rest of us as well,” Kaldur explained. “Not that I would know. I do not attend school anymore.”

“Yeah, so she’s essentially doing a study crunch for an entire class and then some. She might need some help.”

“Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say…” Jason muttered under his breath, narrowing his eyes at Babs.

“Then we should go give her a hand! No point in letting her stress herself out like that!”

“That’s exactly what I thought you were gonna say…”

“She… might not appreciate all of us barging in like that. Maybe only a few of us should go.”

“Perhaps you, Babs, and Jason should go,” Kaldur suggested. “I will stay here and let the others know what is going on. If you manage to finish early enough, I am sure Zatanna and M’gann will be more than willing to cook something for all of us as a reward.”

“Cool, I’ll text you and let you know what’s going on. C’mon, let’s go rescue KF from her overbearing classmates.”

“So, why does she have to tutor her entire class?” Jason asked, pouting slightly. “And why are we stopping at Jitters?”

“She doesn’t have to tutor them. She chose to,” Robin said. “And we’re getting her coffee in hopes that she won’t be too upset with us when we crash her tutoring session.”

“I didn’t realize she had friends outside of the Team,” Babs said, paying for their order before Robin could.

“I wouldn’t call them ‘friends’. Most of them call her ‘West’ instead of Wally and she doesn’t bond with her classmates since she was bullied heavily in the past. She’s just being nice by offering to tutor them.”

“She was bullied?”

“Well, I don’t really know the extent of it, but all she would mention is that the other kids thought she was ‘weird’ and ‘a freak’ so, y’know… Kinda left her a little socially inept for a few years. The Team was a good experience for her.”

“She’s still weird…” Jason muttered, taking a sip of his coffee once their order was done.

“Yeah, well, can’t do much about that. If you’ve met Barry and Iris, you’d understand why she’s that way. Barry, especially. He fuels her chaotic side.”

“How chaotic are we talking here…?”

“What you see on a daily basis with the Team is nothing compared to what she can do. Especially if she has help.”

“That’s scary… and curious… Count me in next time she has a plan.”

“Jason!” Babs exclaimed.

“Too late, Babs. He’s a part of the Trouble Quartet now. New name pending, obviously. Walls suggested the Chaos Crew.”

“I better not hear that either of you got into too much trouble or I’m telling Bruce!” Babs threatened lightly.

Robin laughed at that.

Jason smirked and took another sip of his coffee.

“As if he’s not used to me and KF causing chaos by now! As long as we’re not creating intentional international incidents, he assumes it’s business as usual. The only thing changing would be that he has to deal with Z and Jay now.”

“And here I thought at least Kaldur or Artemis would be able to reign you in.”

“Kaldur’s known both of us too long to really reign us in anymore. Doesn’t stop him from trying, though. Look alive, we’re here.”

“The library? Why here?” Jason asked.

“It’s quiet and the librarians don’t really care if she raises her voice a bit since they like her,” Robin explained as they stepped inside.

He easily found her usual tutoring spot in the back of the library, spotting her whispering a bit louder than normal to one of her classmates about the problem they were trying to solve.

“We’ve gone over it five times now!” she hissed. “What aren’t you getting about it?”

“I just don’t get it, West! What do you want me to do?!”

“I want you to study when we don’t have tutoring sessions!”

A frozen coffee drink was thrust in her face, her hands instinctively coming up to grab onto it.

“What are you doing here? I don’t remember inviting you.”

Robin smirked and tilted his head slightly.

“You’re not being very nice. And after Babs, Jaybird, and I went through all the trouble of coming to help you out.”

Wally pouted, looking over his head to see the aforementioned Bat-children waving at her.

Well, Babs waved.

Jason just gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

“...Fine. Maybe you can get them to understand. Here, this is what we’ve been going over for the last two hours,” she finally relented, shoving a paper into his hands. “I’m taking a small break before I lose my mind.”

Without waiting for a reply, she stalked off around the corner, angrily sipping her coffee as she went.

“Wow, she’s pissed,” Robin said, smirking and turning his attention to her classmates. “Hey, what’s up? We’re her friends and we’re here to keep her from losing her mind.”

“Are you really not getting it or are you just wasting her time…?” Jason muttered lowly, narrowing his eyes as he looked over what they were studying. “She said you’ve been having her go over this same equation five times. Either you’re stupid or you’ve got it and you’re just wasting her time still. Which is it?”

“Jay, don’t be mean!” Babs hissed in his ear before addressing Wally’s classmates. “We’re going to go over it one more time. If you still don’t get it, you will have to study whatever you’re stumped on and prove to Wally that you’ve got it the next time you have a session which is…?”

She trailed off looking to Robin for a date.

“Tomorrow after school,” he finished. “There’s no reason to rely on her to give you the answers when you’re all perfectly capable of taking these extremely detailed study packets she makes for you and learning it for yourself whenever she doesn’t have time for a tutoring session.”

“She also doesn’t have to do this for any of you…”

“Right. Bet you didn’t know this is cutting into her time with her friends and that she is also an intern at STAR Labs, but hasn’t been able to help out recently due to this. Now, after this equation, we will only go over each different problem three times. After that, it’s up to you to study it on your own.”

With their piece said, the trio of Bat-children got to work, cycling between the three of them as they went over the problems left in the packets.

And true to their word, they didn’t accept any questions on any problems after the third time they went over it.

And if anyone wondered why Jason - who was much younger than everyone present - was teaching them, no one said a word.

His glare was enough to silence them before the thought even came to their mind.

At one point, Robin disappeared from the tutoring session to find a redhead that failed to come back.

“Hey…” he whispered, sitting next to her behind the bookcase he found her at. “Your tutoring session is going much better, by the way. Jay and Babs are almost finished with your packet for the day.”

“Jaybird looks like he’d break their fingers if they thought of messing with him…” she whispered back, absently chewing on her straw, her cup long empty.

“We’re trying to ease him out of violent approaches like that. But we’ve set up new rules for your sessions. You can only go over a problem three times. If someone still doesn’t get it after that, they have to study it and show you the next time that they finally understand it. That should shorten your study sessions by a lot.”

“...Thanks… I thought I would’ve been finished with it much earlier, but…”

He smiled and took off his sunglasses, gently placing his hand over hers.

“No need to thank us. You may be stubborn, but you’re also trying to stay on their good sides so you don’t have a repeat of pre-middle school. But you should put your foot down with certain things.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

“I’ve seen you stand your ground about things. Granted, it was mostly when you were angry with someone, but still.”

She gave a small smile at that.

“I think the only person who pushes back when I’m angry is you. And probably Kon, but you’re more stubborn than him.”

He laughed quietly.

“Yeah, I bet. C’mon, let’s go see if they’re wrapping up everything. Z and M’gann are gonna make us a nice meal as a reward for not murdering your classmates out of stress.”

“That sounds great, actually. I’ll let Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris know I’ll be home a bit later.”


	46. Of Fear and Cures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello!!
> 
> I am currently now in Germany and boy is that jetlag brutal!
> 
> At the time of posting this, it is 11:30 at night (so usual time I would post in the states, but it's more like 5:30 p.m. over there)
> 
> Anyway, expect strange and sporadic updates as I get them out while adjusting to a new country!
> 
> And please enjoy my adaptation of the Arkham Knight storyline with Young Justice!

This was not turning out to be a great first mission for their new Teammates.

And it was not the greatest passing of the torch for Jason to get the ‘Robin’ mantle.

“Beast Boy, Bumblebee, do you have eyes on Gotham?” Dick - now dubbed Nightwing - said into his comms, perched on a rooftop and looking around the immediate area below him.

_ “We’ve got eyes on the entire city right now with Miss Martian’s help,”  _ Karen Beecher - Bumblebee - said.  _ “But no sign of Scarecrow or the Joker.” _

“Keep looking and inform someone immediately when you see something. KF, you’re with me.”

_ “Of course she is,”  _ came a unanimous call through the comms from nearly everyone.

“Alright, KF,” Nightwing said, smirking as he glanced back at her. “Ready to see the secret quarantine cave we have here in Gotham?”

“Totally. I won’t write it down, I promise,” she teased with a matching smirk. “So, I just got here. Enlighten me on why I was called for an emergency mission to Gotham. With little to no League assistance.”

“Aqualad didn’t give you a briefing?”

“I haven’t seen him. And he wasn’t the one to tell me. Barry got a message from Batman calling for me.”

“That explains it. C’mon, we’ve got permission to take the Batmobile. Or, one of them, at least.”

He directed her attention to the street just as an armored car pulled up.

It was clearly the Batmobile, but it was gray instead of the signature black.

“Unfortunately, you’ll have to sit in the passenger seats. In the back.”

As if on cue, the back of the Batmobile opened, two joined seats sliding out, the harnesses raising.

She rolled her eyes slightly, taking one of the seats.

“Y’know, riding in cars has never really been my style.”

“I know. But this is the fastest way to get both of us to where we need to go. And we’ll look cool doing it. I’ll brief you on the way.”

She jolted as the Batmobile started moving, Nightwing’s voice coming over the communications inside.

_ “Okay, so Scarecrow and Joker are at it again. Well, not again, but you get the idea. We’re not sure if they’re working together officially or if they just have similar goals and have a shaky alliance. But what we do know for sure is that Scarecrow is cooking up some kind of mega fear toxin somewhere and Joker is somehow infecting people with what we’re referring to as Joker toxin.” _

“Two things. One, I’m gonna guess that you have people who have been infected in your little quarantine cave?”

_ “Right on the money, KF. We’re meeting Robin there to work on a cure. The second thing?” _

“Have you checked the old ACE Chemicals factory for Scarecrow? If he’s cooking up a massive amount of enhanced toxin, he’d need the factory to produce it on that scale.”

There was a moment of silence from the driver’s seat.

“...Seriously? None of you thought of that before I got here?”

_ “Listen, we didn’t think he’d invade a building that wasn’t abandoned. Cut us some slack. I’ll send Aqualad your theory and we’ll check it out. Hopefully you’re right.” _

“I’m sure I am. How much long until we get there?”

_ “Almost there. Uh, hang on, I’ve got a call from Alfred.” _

She rolled her eyes with a smirk, easily hacking into the communications in his wrist computer and bringing up the call on her own.

**_“Ah, good evening, Miss West. Good to see you’re doing well.”_ **

“Evening, Alfred.”

_ “I regret teaching you how to hack into the Batcomputer mainframe… What’s up, Alfred?” _

**_“Master Todd has been pestering Master Bruce about when his help is arriving.”_ **

_ “He should’ve contacted me personally. We’re right around the corner, Alfred. He won’t have to wait any longer.” _

**_“Very well. Do feel free to contact me if you need anything, Master Grayson. You as well, Miss West.”_ **

“Will do, Alfred. Thanks.”

Alfred hung up, but the call didn’t stop immediately, Nightwing’s face now taking up the holographic screen.

_ “Why did you hack my wrist computer?” _

“I’m nosy,” she said as the car came to a stop, ending the call as she was released from the passenger seat. “And besides, you could’ve booted me out of that call at any moment you wanted.”

“Fair enough. Not like I have anything to lose by you listening in on those calls since you know everything already,” he said, motioning for her to follow him up to a gated door at an abandoned movie studio. “It’s voice activated, but you’re registered as a guest in the system anyway, so no security protocols should activate.”

“Bold of you to assume I didn’t register myself into the system.”

“...You’re bluffing.”

She smirked at him, stepping forward and leaning toward the speaker.

“Don’t tell Nightwing,” was all she said.

And the gate covering the entrance raised itself.

“...I still regret teaching you the master password to the Batcomputer…”

“That is a ‘you’ problem. C’mon, we need to help Jaybird.”

He shook his head slightly, following her into the elevator.

“About time my backup showed up!” was the greeting they received as soon as the elevator doors opened. “Do you know how hard it is to find a cure for something like this by yourself?!”

“That’s why I brought you KF. She might be able to speed up the process. No pun intended.”

“Let me see what you’ve got,” she said, already standing in front of the computer and pulling up every single file Jason had on the cure and the Joker toxin. “Hmm… This might take a while… This is fairly complex and there’s no known cure for this combination…”

“I’ll leave you two, then,” Nightwing said, turning to leave.

“Did you seriously call me here just to work on a cure??”

“You have a lot of skill sets. I need you to use that beautiful brain of yours to get this done. Once you’re sure you have something, you can meet me out in the field with the others.”

She groaned and rolled her eyes as he left, shaking her head a bit before turning back to the computer.

“How many infected so far?” she asked.

“Four, though one of them - Henry Adams - seems to be immune to the Joker toxin. It’s not affecting him like it’s affecting the others. So we’re using his blood to try and make a cure,” Jason said. “Sorry you got stuck with me.”

“It’s not you I’m upset about. I got called all the way here just to get holed up underground and work on science things. I’d rather be out there helping look for Scarecrow and Joker.”

“I feel you on that. My debut night as Robin and they stick me in here instead of going out there and showing Gotham the new Robin.”

“This is probably just Nightwing trying to protect both of us. But it’s just making us upset and he’s too stubborn to change his mind.”

“Typical… Anyway, I’ve made some progress, but it’s not enough to properly make a cure. Also, don’t talk to any of the infected except for Mr. Adams. They’re uh… too Joker-like for my tastes.”

“I’ll do my best to stay away. And the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go show Nightwing that we’re better help out there.”

“He gets a fancy new mantle and all of a sudden, he thinks he’s in charge…” Jason grumbled under his breath as they got to work.

_ “Are you sure it was wise to not have Kid Flash out in the field?” _ Kaldur asked over comms.

“She can be mad at me later. Her skills are needed to make that cure before more people get infected.”

_ “And you’re sure it’s a good idea for those two to be alone together?”  _ Babs asked.  _ “I mean, you know how paranoid Robin can get sometimes… and with a side effect of being infected by the Joker toxin being green eyes and, well…” _

“He’s paranoid, but not that paranoid. He knows KF has green eyes normally, so unless something serious happens, he won’t accuse her of anything. Has anyone gotten into ACE Chemicals yet?”

_ “The building or the factory?”  _ Conner asked.

“The factory, SB. That’s where KF thinks Scarecrow is hiding out and making his fear toxin. Has there been any activity around there?”

_ “Armed guards dressed in red and white. I assume this is not usual for Gotham?”  _ Kaldur said.

“Not even a little bit. I’m on my way now and take a look at what we’re dealing with.”

_ “And what about Batman?” _

“Once he contacts me again, I’ll fill him in on any new intel and what our plan is. Do not move in on the factory until I get a good idea of who these guards are.”

_ “Understood. This is your city and you know it better than any of us.” _

“I’m not trying to step on your toes here, Aqualad.”

_ “I know, Nightwing. We will talk about this more after the mission.” _

Letting out a breath, Nightwing perched himself on a nearby vantage point, scanning the area for these red and white armed guards.

“Hm… Looks like some kind of militia group that Scarecrow hired… I can’t tell who they are, though. The symbol on their uniforms is unknown to me. Anyone else got an idea?” he said, sending a picture of the symbol to everyone.

It didn’t look familiar to anyone else either.

“Great… They’re all well armed, too. How did Scarecrow afford these guys?”

_ “More importantly, how are we going to get in?”  _ Bumblebee asked.  _ “There’s a lot of them and also what looks like tanks.” _

Nightwing smirked, a sudden plan coming to him.

“I think I’ve got an idea.”

“I’m sorry you’ve had to be here for so long, Mr. Adams,” Wally said sympathetically as she ran more tests on him. “But this is taking a lot longer than they had hoped.”

“It’s not your fault, dear,” Henry said, patting her arm. “From what I understand, that’s exactly why they called you here. Kid Flash, you said your name was?”

“That’s right. I’m actually from Central City, but I can be called to other places for emergencies.”

“How wonderful it must be to be needed by so many people.”

She chuckled and shook her head.

“Stressful is more like it. Hopefully we’ll get this cure figured out and we can finally send you home, Mr. Adams. After Scarecrow is dealt with, of course. Gotham’s been evacuated.”

“Must be a serious threat, then, this Scarecrow character.”

“His fear toxin is nothing to sneeze at. Pulls your greatest fear out of your mind and drives you mad.”

A small pause as she drew some blood, and then

“From what I’ve heard from Batman and Nightwing, of course. I’ve never actually seen Scarecrow in person before. I think the only Gotham villains I’ve encountered are Joker and Harley, Penguin, and Mr. Freeze.”

“Oh, I see! And how did that go?”

“Joker is a force to be reckoned with. I can never accurately guess what he’s going to do next,” she said, giving him a small smile. “Harley is almost the same, but she’s somewhat predictable. Penguin didn’t seem like much of a threat, and I have experience with ice villains like Mr. Freeze. But he’s much more menacing than Captain Cold.”

“Captain Cold sounds like a pushover,” Jason called from the computer, not even looking in their direction.

Wally laughed at that, grinning widely.

“Ah, yeah, I guess he would be compared to someone like Mr. Freeze!”

She placed a band-aid over where she had drawn blood from, straightening up slightly.

“Alright, Mr. Adams. You just relax for a little bit while we keep working. I’ll get you some water.”

“You’re too kind, Kid Flash.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot…” she murmured, heading deeper into the quarantine cave and fetching a bottle of water. “Nightwing’s probably having more fun than I am…”

The Batmobile came crashing over the closed bridge to the ACE Chemicals factory, immediately shifting into battle mode and firing at the militia soldiers and tanks.

Nightwing laughed as he fired, thinking of it almost as a video game.

Once it was clear, the rest of his Team moved in.

“So what’s the plan now?” Artemis asked.

“We’ll infiltrate through different locations to catch them off guard. If there were this amount of soldiers out here, there’s probably more inside to protect Scarecrow.”

He split the Team up, ensuring that each group was as well-balanced as he could make it.

With Kaldur at his side, the two took the most obvious way in.

The entrance.


	47. The Yellow Flicker Released

“It’s strange…” Wally mumbled as she looked at the data on the screen. “We’ve been running so many tests and yet we’re no closer to a cure…”

“So what do you suggest we do?” Jason asked, keeping his voice low. “We need this cure, but if we’re not getting close to one…”

He trailed off, unsure of what their backup plan would be if they couldn’t synthesize this Joker cure.

“...Get me another blood sample. I’m going to try something else,” she said.

If Jason noticed her troubled expression and the lack of conviction in her voice, he didn’t comment on it.

There was something odd going on with Henry Adam’s so-called immunity to the Joker toxin.

Sure, he wasn’t showing any physical signs of being affected, but that didn’t mean anything.

Was he really immune?

She looked through their data again as she waited for a fresh blood sample, trying to find any discrepancies or anything they may have missed.

There was no way they were making this little progress…

“Here’s that blood sample you wanted…”

“Oh, thanks!”

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she smiled slightly at Jason before taking the blood and beginning to run some tests on it.

Jason watched her carefully, glancing from her face to the screen.

“...What are you doing?”

“Just running some tests we haven’t done yet.”

He frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything else.

Though he did keep a closer eye on what she was doing.

Neither noticed the figure creeping up behind them.

“Where is Nightwing?” Kaldur asked once everyone had evacuated the factory.

“I thought he was with you,” Artemis said, looking around to try and spot him. “You both went in together.”

“I had admittedly lost sight of him once we were all in the main room. He had mentioned something about stopping Scarecrow before he disappeared.”

“And here I thought he’d stopped the whole disappearing act…” Conner mumbled.

“Wait, so he’s still in there with the self-destruct sequence going on??” Garfield cried out. “What’s he thinking?!”

“He is not. That is the problem,” Kaldur said. “But we cannot go back in and rescue him until the explosion goes off. Nightwing, what is your status?”

_ “Don’t worry about me! I know what I’m doing!” _

“And what is it you think you are doing?”

_ “I’m trying to decrease the explosion radius. Just one more and I can keep it all confined in the factory vicinity.” _

“Nightwing, that is highly dangerous. Kid is waiting for you.”

_ “Kaldur, I’ve got this. You have to trust me.” _

Kaldur sighed.

“If you are sure you have the situation handled.”

Nightwing laughed, though it sounded a bit forced.

“Don’t I always…?” he mumbled as he carefully carried the last cylinder to decrease the blast radius.

And perched delicately on the control panel nearby was Wally.

Or something that was pretending to be Wally.

This one looked like his Wally, right down to the playful glint in her eyes.

But she didn’t respond like Wally, and she certainly didn’t make anything clear.

“Really, Dick Grayson, your stubbornness is admirable.”

“I’m not being stubborn.”

She raised a brow.

“Besides, I thought you couldn’t appear to non-speedsters like this.”

She smiled at him.

“Who is to say we are actually here? You were exposed to some of the toxin.”

“It’s fear toxin, though. And I’m not scared of you,” he said as he slowly lowered the last cylinder in.

The countdown was coming to an end.

“We suppose we both require answers, then. We would take cover if we were you. The timer is at three seconds.”

“Just a little more and the blast radius will be contained…”

“You do not have that time.”

“Wha-”

The factory exploded, everyone outside stumbling back from the blast.

Once the blast settled down, Kaldur let out a breath.

“Time to find Nightwing.”

Nightwing groaned softly, his ears ringing and his head pounding.

A familiar ungloved hand reached out to help him up.

His eyes followed up the arm to see her there, not a scratch on her as she waited for him to take her hand.

“Honestly, Dick Grayson. We think Kaldur’ahm is right when he says you and Wally West will be the death of him one day.”

He ignored her offer to help him up, instead pushing himself to his feet.

“Yeah? Well, Kaldur can deal with it…”

“No doubt your friends are on their way to rescue you. Will we wait here or will you attempt to meet them?”

“I’m not taking orders from something that may or may not actually be here…”

“It was not an order. It was a question.”

“Then to answer your question, we’re going to wait here. No need to make Kaldur any more upset…”

“Very well. Do keep in mind that we doubt your friends can see us, so try not to make it obvious you are speaking with us around them.”

“I still don’t know why the fear toxin manifested you of all things… I’m not scared of the speedforce…”

She hummed and seated herself on some rubble.

“Perhaps it is not us as the speedforce that you fear. Who do we appear to you as?”

He glanced at her.

“Do you really need to ask?”

“Of course. Wally West. Then your answer should lie there. We do only come from your mind, after all.”

“I’m not scared of Wally, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“We would imply no such thing.”

He parted his lips to make some kind of snarky response, but stopped when he heard muffled voices calling for him.

“Nightwing? Where are you?” Kaldur called out.

“I’m here!” he called back. “Still where you left me!”

“We didn’t leave you anywhere,” Artemis said as she climbed up to where Nightwing was. “You left yourself here. We were all leaving.”

“Hey, Aqualad was supposed to be in charge of me today. He’s the Team leader.”

“And this is your mission,” Kaldur retorted. “I had no reason to believe you were not right behind me.”

“Fair enough.”

“So… we blew up his supply of fear toxin,” Bumblebee said. “Now what? Are we done with Scarecrow?”

“Not even close. He mentioned something about a weapon called Cloudburst. Not to mention, there’s still the Joker to be worried about on top of Robin and KF working on that cure for the Joker toxin. So we’re going to split the Team up into two. One group will go after Scarecrow and the Cloudburst. The other will go after Joker and check in on the cure.”

“And let me guess which group you’re going to lead,” Artemis said.

“I’m not that predictable.”

“Debatable,” both Artemis and the odd Wally said.

“Well, either way, we should check on Robin and KF anyway. There’s been no updates since I dropped her off.”

The odd Wally gave him a knowing smirk, but didn’t say anything.

If she knew something, this possessed Wally wasn’t going to tell him.

If anything, she was more cryptic than the actual speedforce.

So what did that say about his mental state?

“It would be wise to check on them. It is unusual that Kid would not report anything, even if there is nothing significant,” Kaldur said. “She has been known to ask random questions when she feels she has been quiet for too long.”

“Random questions?” Garfield asks. “Like what?”

“She once asked me what I thought the worst multiple of three was,” Artemis replied. “I told her I didn’t like the number nine and she told me I was wrong and it was clearly twenty seven.”

“...That’s not a thing someone should have an opinion on.”

“Try telling her that. She’s got opinions on a lot of things people shouldn’t have opinions on.”

“Twenty seven is a terrible multiple of three,” the odd Wally agreed, nodding her head.

“Regardless, I’m splitting the Team again,” Nightwing said. “I’m taking Beast Boy, Suberboy, and Artemis to check on the cure and track down Joker. That leaves Miss Martian, Bumblebee, and Aqualad to track down Scarecrow and the Cloudburst. If KF isn’t needed to help Robin, I’ll send her your way, Aqualad.”

“Very well. I will keep in touch on any intel we receive about this Cloudburst and any leads.”

Nightwing nodded, turning to leave with his squad.

“Harley, honey, this is going way too far, don’t you think?” Wally said from her perch just out of Harley’s reach. “You’re not going to catch me. And why free these guys?”

“Mistah J wants them freed, so I freed ‘em!”

Wally nodded slightly.

“Cool, cool, cool… But, honey, he doesn’t respect you. Love the outfit, by the way.”

Harley giggled and twirled a bit in her new outfit.

“Ya like it? Picked it out myself!”

“The rhinestone diamonds on the tights are a nice touch. Very you,” Wally said, relaxing slightly.

Jason watched this go down, confused and suspicious as Wally did nothing to untie him or even take the gag off of him.

“So, you freed all the infected people. Now what? They’re just running free in the movie studio now. And Mr. Adams helped you get in, so I was right on suspecting there was something wrong with him while we were working on that cure.”

“Y’know, I don’t think he told me what ta do after this.”

“Huh… So what do you want to do?”

“Hmm… I’ve never really thought about that…”

“Harley!” Henry snapped, his eyes the same toxic green as the Joker’s. “Stop chatting with the enemy!”

“Excuse me, Mr. Adams,” Wally interrupted. “We’re clearly having a conversation here. Girl to girl.”

“Wh-”

“Sorry about that, Harley. Did you dye your hair yourself like that, too?”

Harley gasped and grinned at her, tugging on her pigtails.

“I did!! It’s nice, isn’t it?? Is your hair actually that red or do you dye it?”

“Completely natural. And I don’t plan on dying it at any time.”

“Ooh, but I think you’d make a great blonde!”

Wally kept her distracted with small talk - something that hadn’t been her strong suit only a couple years ago - though she found herself genuinely enjoying talking with Harley.

Despite being with the Joker, she was intelligent - she had to be if she was a psychologist - and actually funny.

And definitely didn’t deserve the treatment the Joker gave her.

The elevator rattled as it came to a stop at the bottom, all eyes turning to see Nightwing and his squad stepping out.

He looked from Wally and Harley to the tied up Jason to Henry to the empty cells and back again.

“...Do I want to know?”

“I’ll tell you later. Mind giving me a hand? There’s three others further backstage,” she said, hopping off her perch and tackling Harley to the ground.

“Ow! Hey, I thought we were having girl time!” Harley protested.

Nightwing pointed Conner, Garfield, and Artemis toward backstage, blocking Henry from getting to Wally.

“Girl time? With a villain? Really?” he asked.

“Oh, please. Like you’ve never seen me banter with a villain before. Sorry, Harley. I do think your outfit is cute, though!”

“Compliments will get you nowhere now, Speedy!!”

“Don’t call me that.”

Wally kept Harley at bay, Nightwing doing the same for Henry.

But then… something went wrong.

Henry suddenly collapsed, blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth.

“Oh, that doesn’t look good…” Wally mumbled, keeping Harley in her grasp. “Is he…?”

Nightwing knelt down, pressing his fingers to his neck.

After a few moments, he shook his head.

“Definitely dead. The Joker toxin must have been too much for his body.”

“So if Mr. Adams is dead, do you think the other ones dropped dead, too?”

“Most likely. I’ll contact my Team. You lock Harley up and get Robin out of that chair.”

“Pushy tonight, aren’t we?” both Wallys said in tandem.

The real Wally got to work, hoisting Harley over her shoulder and carrying her over to one of the now empty cells, setting her inside and shutting the door.

Then she untied Jason, removing the gag.

“You couldn’t have done that earlier?” he complained.

“I was distracting Harley. What do you want from me?”

“We could have definitely taken both of them together.”

“Maybe next time, little bird. But I guess we don’t have to work on that cure anymore. I thought something was wrong… Our progress was too stagnated for the amount of tests we were running.”

“We’re still going to need a cure ready just in case other people get infected,” Nightwing said.

“Okay, but I think the only way we can do that is if we have a sample of the actual Joker toxin. If someone’s managed to track down the Joker, I can run out snag a sample.”

“I need you here-”

“And I need the Joker toxin which I know won’t be high on your list of things to do. Point me in the direction of Aqualad and I’ll be around long enough to grab what I need and come back to work on that cure.”

“What about Robin?”

“He can wait for me here and make sure Harley doesn’t escape. Relax, Nightwing. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“There is truth to her words,” the odd Wally said, pacing around Nightwing slowly. “Sheltering her will only make her act out. Is what you fear so terrible, you would disregard her feelings to presumably protect her?”

“This isn’t up for debate.”

“I’m not debating anything,” Wally said, already pulling her goggles down. “If you won’t tell me where Aqualad is, I’ll ask him myself.”

“KF, you’re not going out there.”

“I am going out there.”

“This is my mission and I’m assigning the jobs around here.”

“Yeah? And I could just as easily go home and send the Flash here instead. But I chose to answer the call and come here. I’m going out there to get my sample.”

(“I feel like this is a bad time…” Conner said softly from nearby. Neither hero paid him any mind.)

“I’m the leader for this mission and I’m ordering you to stay here with Robin and work on the cure!”

“How can I work on a cure without a sample of the actual toxin?! Are you going to make that priority number one?!”

“Scarecrow is a bigger priority than the Joker right now!”

“See?! Just let me get what I need and I’ll come right back here to get it done!”

“Wally, you’re safer down here!”

“What are you so afraid of?!”

“You know exactly what I’m afraid of!” he shouted.

There was a small pause.

Wally parted her lips to say something else, but Artemis quickly interjected.

“The other infected people just… dropped dead while we were trying to apprehend them,” Artemis said, stepping between them before another argument could break out. “Looks like the same happened here. We should regroup with Aqualad and swap intel.”

“...Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. You two,” he said, pointing at Jason and Wally. “Stay here.”

“Actually,” Artemis added. “I spoke with Aqualad. He said he found a warehouse with some of the Joker toxin. He’ll meet KF there and escort her back to make sure she’s going to be fine. Not that I doubt her ability to take care of herself, but… this is for you.”

“Artemis, I appreciate your… incentive, but you were there. You heard what… what  _ they  _ said,” he said, his voice lowering.

The odd Wally said nothing as she watched the real Wally tap at her wrist computer, a map with a coordinates marker popping up.

“...It seems you do not have a choice in this matter, Dick Grayson.”

Nightwing stopped as he looked over to see Wally already in the elevator.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Aqualad sent me the location. I’ll be back soon, little bird. Keep an eye on Harley for me,” she replied, though her words were mostly aimed at Jason.

The elevator rose, not even giving Nightwing the chance to stop her.

And by the time he got to the surface, she’d be long gone.

“Honestly…” Artemis and the odd Wally sighed together.

“She’s going to be fine out there. She won’t be anywhere near Scarecrow,” Conner said.

“But-”

“Nope. None of that!” Garfield said. “Kid Flash is super tough! And even if she got hit with any kind of toxin, wouldn’t her body just process it faster than ours because of her powers? She probably wouldn’t even get any kind of reaction!”

“...That’s still purely theoretical,” Jason said. “Caffeine is one thing, but toxins that affect the brain are an entirely different matter. I suppose the only way to find out would be to introduce it to her system, but that’s too risky in this situation…”

He looked up from thinking out loud, noting Artemis’s look to tell him to shut up and Nightwing’s slightly panicked look.

“...I’ll keep in touch with her and give her a check up when she gets back. And I’ll let Aqualad know that I just freaked Nightwing out more. You guys go on ahead and keep us in the loop about anything to do with Scarecrow.”

Before Nightwing could protest, Artemis shoved him toward the now returning elevator.

“Thanks, Robin. We’ll be in touch.”


	48. Suspicions Arise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha can you tell I just really like Arkham Knight's story?
> 
> Too bad I couldn't add the actual Arkham Knight into the story for... reasons.
> 
> (Would it still count as a spoiler even if the game has been out for like 6 years?)
> 
> ((Anyway, play the Arkham Series if you haven't already. Peak Batman games with Arkham Knight being the best.))
> 
> (((I will gladly tell anyone my rankings of all four games and why if you only ask)))

“Good to see you out in the field, Kid,” Kaldur greeted, pulling Wally into a half hug. “I am surprised Nightwing let you go.”

“He didn’t exactly agree to this a hundred percent. I had to leave while he was arguing with Artemis, so the sooner I get this sample, the sooner I can get back and stop him from coming after me.”

“He seems much more protective of you this time around.”

“Yeah, and it’s pissing me off. He’s scared of my future, but I think the fear toxin enhanced that fear. Not that, that explains his actions before he went into the factory.”

“He is just looking out for you,” he said, giving her a small smile and pulling away from the hug.

“I’m older than him. If anything, I should be looking out for him. Artemis told me what he did with the Batmobile…”

“Yes, that was… ill-advised of him. As well as his attempt to reduce the blast radius of the explosion.”

“Kaldur, you were supposed to be watching him.”

“In my defense, I thought he was right behind me,” he retorted, pointing at the warehouse nearby. “You will find your Joker toxin in there. Be warned that there are armed guards in there as well as sentry guns given to Joker by the militia group.”

“Militia?”

“I will fill you in later. Just know that they are working with Scarecrow to thwart our attempts to stop him.”

“Noted,” she said, pulling her goggles down and scanning for threats. “Woah, that’s a lot of heavily armed men… and some of them don’t look like Joker’s goons.”

“Those are the militia members. They are smart, Kid. They will adapt to the way you fight and move. Be warned.”

“Also noted. Since they’re so heavily armed, we’ll have to take a stealthier approach.”

She cracked her knuckles and switched her suit to the stealth tech.

“Time to put that stealth training to the test.”

“Stealth training?”

“I may have asked Batman and crew to give me some extra stealth training so I could be better at it. I may be fast, but that paints a target on me when I can’t disappear before I’m spotted. Also I thought it’d be fun!”

“No doubt you-” Kaldur started to say, turning to look at Wally.

But she was already gone, only the faint sound of her laughter as she disappeared into the darkness.

“This was a dangerous skill you taught her, Nightwing…” he whispered to himself.

He leapt onto a vantage point, trying to get eyes on Wally to see what she was doing.

A voice whispered in his comms.

“You take the guys outside. I’m already sneaking around inside.”

“Very well. I will rendezvous with you after I am done.”

“Going radio silent.”

She felt good sneaking around like this.

Made her feel like part of the Batfam.

Even though she was an honorary member by proxy of dating the first Robin, but who was keeping track?

(She was, only because she has actual access to the Batcave now.)

Switching back and forth between heat signature detection and threat detection, she moved quietly through the grates in the floor, timing her move so she could pick them off one by one.

Once she had a militia member isolated, she hopped out of the grates and muffled the sounds they were making, knocking them unconscious and hopping back into the floor.

This was going to take a while…

Vaguely, she wondered if Kaldur was finished with the guys outside.

Slowly and methodically, she moved throughout the room, taking out the militia and even destroying the sentry guns they had set up.

After blinding them, of course, so she didn’t get shot at.

Her suit wasn’t bulletproof.

“Aqualad, I’ve cleared out the inside. I’m going in for the Joker toxin.”

“Use caution, Kid. It is highly volatile.”

“Even if I get hit by a little, it shouldn’t affect me. Things go through my system fast, remember?”

“I thought that was still up for debate.”

“Well, we’re doing field testing now. Don’t tell Nightwing.”

“My lips are sealed.”

She smirked.

She could count on Kaldur when it came to keeping things from Nightwing.

There were no other obvious entrances into where the toxin was being held, so she cautiously opened the door.

“Surprise!”

A white gloved hand attached to a purple sleeve was all she saw before a puff of green smoke exploded in her face.

She coughed, running out of the cloud and further into the room.

“Hm? You’re not one of the Bat-brats! In fact, I don’t think you’re from around here. Have we met before?”

The Joker.

What was he doing here?

And how had he not been detected through her goggles?

He laughed loudly, already starting to take his leave.

“Well, I suppose this will be a nice surprise for the actual Bat-brats! You’re going to be  _ wonderful _ , dear!”

As he left, all she could hear was his laughter.

Shaking her head slightly to clear it, she snagged a vial of the toxin and quickly left the building.

“I’ve got it,” she said, letting out a few more coughs. “Ran into the Joker, though…”

“Did you get hit with the toxin?” Kaldur asked, suddenly concerned.

“Got hit with some kind of green gas, so possibly, but it’s not enough to actually affect me I don’t think. I ran out of the gas almost as soon as it hit me. Jaybird’s gonna give me a check-up purely for Nightwing’s sake when I get back.”

“Well… alright. I promised I would escort you back, so shall we be off?”

“Always the gentleman. Sure, let’s go. No doubt he’d find out if I went and did some side missions instead of returning right away… and I can’t leave the little bird by himself or he’ll get agitated.”

“Your affectionate nicknames for Robin are very amusing and I am sure he hates them.”

“He hasn’t said anything about ‘little bird’ yet, but he still hates Jaybird. I dunno why. It’s cute.”

Kaldur chuckled.

“I would not think of this Robin as ‘cute’. You did call him a little criminal when we first met him.”

“He admitted to trying to steal the hubcaps off of the Batmobile! What else was I supposed to think? He can be cute  _ and  _ a little criminal!”

“If you insist, Kid. But while we are on the topic of mantles,” he said, glancing over at her. “I do not think you will want to be called Kid Flash forever.”

“Nope! One day I’m hoping to get that Flash mantle all to myself! Being called ‘Kid Flash’ when I’m older - even now - is kinda embarrassing because… well, I’m not a kid anymore. Just like you probably don’t wanna be called Aqualad forever. Thinking of getting that Aquaman mantle?”

“Perhaps one day. And, if what I have heard is correct, my King will be sending two of my good friends up to the surface to join the Team.”

“Ooh! Tula and Garth?”

“How did you guess?”

“Those are the only friends I’ve heard you talk about… What are they going by?”

“Tula has chosen Aquagirl, perhaps to match mine.”

“Aw, that’s cute!”

“Garth has not decided yet. But he says he will have a mantle ready by the time they join.”

“Sounds good! Oh, looks like we’re here!”

They stopped outside the gated door to the elevator.

“So it seems. Do try and stay out of trouble, Kid.”

“No promises. Make sure Nightwing doesn’t try and get himself killed out there, alright?”

“Of course. Hopefully you will not be trapped down there all night.”

She nodded, opening the gate with her voice.

As she turned to enter the elevator, Kaldur could have sworn that her eyes seemed to be a different shade of green.

A brighter, almost glowing shade…

He shook it off, assuming it was just a trick of the light.

“Little bird! I’m back!” she called out.

“Oh, so we’re sticking with ‘little bird’ now? What happened to calling me Robin?”

“You’re little bird because you’re short. Anyway,” she continued, ignoring his offended look. “I got the sample. I’ll start running tests on it to break it down and make a neutralizing agent for it.”

“I promised Nightwing I would do a check-up on you.”

“Are you going to, though?”

Jason pouted.

“Of course not. I’ll just wait a few minutes and then tell him you’re fine. Not like I had any doubts.”

“Good to know I have another person who won’t fall victim to Nightwing’s worry sessions. Do you want some water while we wait for the computer?”

“Yeah, sure. How long will this take, exactly?”

She hummed, glancing at the screen before walking away.

“A while, unfortunately. It’s gotta break it down to its separate components before we can synthesize a cure.”

“Have you… done this before?” he asked, following her to the fridge.

“Yes and no. Don’t forget I’m an intern at STAR Labs, so I know how to do this kind of stuff. Also, I recreated the Flash’s accident at age eleven with nothing but some chemicals I managed to snag from STAR Labs, a lighter, and his notebook. That I didn’t steal and only memorized, by the way. I’m not a thief.”

“Uh huh…”

Jason looked skeptical.

“So STAR Labs let you have those chemicals, then?”

“I borrowed them,” she said. “Permanently.”

“That’s stealing.”

“A little criminal like you would know what stealing is, wouldn’t you?”

Something changed in her eyes, Jason could see it.

And he was sure it wasn’t his imagination.

Her eyes flashed a brighter, more toxic looking green.

Almost like…

But it was gone before he could think about it too much.

“Anyway, here’s your water bottle. Make sure you stay hydrated, alright? I know how you Gotham heroes are. Forgetting to eat and all that. You know where the snacks are, right?”

“Uh… yeah, I think so.”

“Well, if you forget, we can go looking for them together!”

She smiled at him.

The same old Wally.

So why was he so uneasy?

“If you don’t stop thinking so loudly, I’m calling Batman and telling him to lock you in the Batcave,” Artemis half-threatened, narrowing her eyes at Nightwing.

He was pacing back and forth along the rooftop they were on, not even bothering to keep an eye out for the Cloudburst.

“Didn’t Robin call in and say she was fine? And Aqualad said the same thing!”

“I know! It’s just… I can’t shake the feeling something bad either has happened or will happen.”

“You also got a heavy dose of the fear toxin, so…”

The odd Wally nodded in agreement, swinging her feet slightly.

“Yes, you should chalk these feelings up to the fear toxin. Worrying will not catch Scarecrow.”

“Sorry, I just…”

He sighed softly.

“It’s complicated, but… even if it’s just the fear toxin, this feeling won’t go away no matter what I think or do.”

Artemis sighed, turning to face him.

“Wally can take care of herself. You know that better than anyone on the Team.”

“I know that I know. But sometimes…”

He trailed off, as if he was about to say something he shouldn’t have.

“...Sometimes… what?”

“No. Forget I said anything. It’s not important right now.”

“Artemis, is he worrying you?” Babs asked as she landed on the rooftop. “I can smack some sense into him.”

“He’s acting cagey and weird after getting hit with the fear toxin. Like, really weird about Wally…” Artemis said softly, glancing over at Nightwing.

“I see… Good thing Batman sent me this way. I’ll go see what’s up.”

“Good luck. None of us have been able to get him to relax.”

“I might be better at it than you think.”

Babs smiled at Artemis before marching over to Nightwing and yanking him down to her height roughly.

“Hey! Tell me what the problem is!”

“Ow! Jeez, Babs! What’s your problem?!”

“You are! Stop being weird and moody and tell me what’s going on with you! You’re worrying everyone and probably making Wally very upset!”

“Wally isn’t upset with me-”

“Then why did Conner and Gar tell me she left the cave without so much as glancing at you? You made her mad by trying to shelter her and you know it.”

“Yeah? And she decided to go after the Joker by herself!”

“She wanted the  _ toxin  _ and she wasn’t by herself, you fucking dork!” Artemis called from across the rooftop. “Did you forget about  _ Kaldur _ ?!”

“I can’t forget about Kaldur! I’ve known him longer than you!”

“So you admit she wasn’t alone and going after the Joker specifically?” Babs said, a smug smirk on her face.

Nightwing narrowed his eyes at her.

“...Did your dad teach you interrogation skills?”

“Maybe, maybe not. What’s it to you? Anyway, I’m asking the questions here.”

“Are you good cop or bad cop?”

“Both. So talk to me.”

He sighed heavily.

“Okay, so I’m usually lowkey worried about Wally normally, but after getting gassed… I dunno, it’s like I feel like something bad is going to happen to her tonight and I just want to keep her someplace where I can easily find and contact her.”

“And she hates that. Which you already know.”

“Not even the weirdest part. I’ve started seeing speedforce possessed Wally around and she just heckles me like the regular Wally only she doesn’t make sense most of the time.”

“How rude,” the odd Wally commented, pouting slightly. “We only know as much as you do about this situation.”

“That is really weird, but I think you’re just losing it. C’mon, let’s find that Cloudburst so we can all go home and go to bed.”

Jason watched Wally carefully as she sat on top of Harley’s cell and tapped away at her wrist computer.

Whatever she was working on, she clearly didn’t want him to see what it was.

Sure, she could have her privacy, but there was just something… off about her.

The computer beeped, alerting them to the finished test.

“Oh, it’s done!” she said cheerfully, hopping down and bringing up the broken down compound. “Alright, cool… Now, if we do this and this…”

She was mumbling mostly to herself as she quickly typed away on the keyboard.

Jason watched her work, a bit impressed that she had figured out what to do just by merely glancing at the compound.

“Okay! More waiting!”

“Great… By the way, I found the snack cabinets. Here, you should eat.”

Jason handed her a snack.

She smiled and gladly took it.

“Thanks! Any word from Nightwing and the others while we were minding our own business?”

He shook his head.

“No… At least, they haven’t contacted us…”

She shrugged, taking her place back on top of Harley’s cell again.

“That’s alright. I hacked into Nightwing’s gauntlet comms so I can keep track of what’s going on.”

“Hm. Is this neutralizing agent going to take long?”

“No. We just have to wait a little bit for it to be mixed and dispensed into the vials. Why? Got somewhere to go?”

“Yeah. Out in the field with the others. Like you.”

She hummed, going back to playing on her wrist computer.

He narrowed his eyes at her slightly.

“...What happened when you went to get the Joker toxin sample?”

“Got in and got out. Had to take down a few of those militia guys, though.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“I know that’s not what you meant,” she said, glancing over at him.

(He could have sworn her eyes were different.)

“So tell me what happened.”

They had a stare down, neither backing down.

But Wally broke the silence first.

“I had a little run in with the Joker. He was expecting either Batman or one of his proteges. I may have gotten caught up in a green gas cloud, but didn’t stick around in it long enough for it to have any effect.”

As soon as she spoke, Jason was on the defensive.

She was infected, just like the rest.

Before he could say anything, a voice came through her wrist computer.

_ “There’s the Cloudburst! It’s attached to that militia tank!”  _ Nightwing said.  _ “We have to stop it before-” _

He was cut off as an explosion sounded both through her speakers and through the walls, shaking their surroundings for just a few moments before it subsided.

Wally shook her head, bringing up video feed from the security cameras outside.

“That’s… not good,” she mumbled, Jason appearing at her side to see.

The entirety of Gotham City was covered in thick orange clouds.

Scarecrow’s fear toxin.

The only safe places to be were on the rooftops.

“I’m going out there,” Jason said, turning to leave.

“You’re going nowhere until this cure is finished,” she retorted, grabbing his cape before he could get too far.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re staying here,” he snapped, yanking his cape free from her grasp and walking over to the last cell. “It’s too much of a risk if you got exposed to the Joker toxin. Get in the cell.”

Wally studied him for a few moments, walking over slowly as he opened the cell doors.

She reached out, gently ruffling Jason’s hair.

“You’re a good kid, little bird,” she said, catching him off guard.

What was she playing at, trying to compliment him?

“A good kid,” she repeated. “But I’m not letting you get hurt out there.”

Before he could properly react, she grabbed him and threw him into the cell, locking him in.

“Hey! What the hell is your problem?! Let me out!!” he yelled, banging on the glass.

She ignored him, tapping quickly on her wrist computer as she walked away.

Jason growled and tried to access his comms.

“Nightwing! Nightwing?!”

Nothing. Just static.

“You disabled my comms?!”

“It’s for your own good, little bird,” she said, grabbing the finished cure and storing it in one of her compartments. “You’ll be safer here than out there.”

“And you can’t run anywhere! The streets are covered in the fear gas!”

“Good thing I know a few secrets about all of Batman’s hideouts.”

She stepped into the middle of the room, taking a deep breath.

“Honey, I’m home!!” she shouted.

_ Voice pattern confirmed. _

A panel opened up in the wall, revealing extra costumes for every single Gotham hero.

She hummed as she grabbed one of Nightwing’s old Robin costumes, quickly changing into it and making sure the utility belt was stocked.

“How did you even know about that?!”

“Like I said, I know things. Stay here, okay? I’ll come back for you when the cloud is clear.”

He shouted for her to come back and let him out, even as she entered the elevator and the doors shut.

She wouldn’t look in his direction the entire time.

“Okay, blue bird…” she mumbled. “I’m bringing the party to you tonight.”


	49. Escapee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, I'll wrap this up in the next chapter and then move on to other things before Season Two.

“We need to figure out how to disperse the gas before we can go after the Cloudburst,” Nightwing said after making sure his entire Team made it out safely.

“So what do you suggest we do?” Conner asked.

“What we need is for Poison Ivy to cooperate, but she’s not up for conversation with any of us right now.”

Somewhere, a redhead in the wrong costume smirked as she eavesdropped on the conversation through her wrist computer, heading off toward a new target.

“This is ridiculous…” Artemis muttered. “You know who would come up with an idea?”

“Wally isn’t here to make ideas for us.”

“Uh huh… But you know where she is. Just ask her over the comms!”

“Fine, but she’s not coming out into the field.”

_ “Sorry to disappoint, blue bird,”  _ came a familiar voice through all their comms.  _ “But I’ve already escaped! And I’ve found Ivy! She said she can make enough of her immunity spores, but she needs another one of these giant ass trees she’s hiding out in. How you missed it is beyond me…” _

“KF, what do you think you’re doing?”

_ “Your job. I’m on my way to the Stagg Industry airships if you’d like to join me. Though, you might not be able to catch up since all you’ve done tonight is throw yourself into deadly situations and worry.” _

“I’m coming after you and bringing you back to the studios.”

_ “Like hell you are! I’m already in the airships!” _

“What are you looking for, Kid?” Kaldur asked, cutting off whatever protest Nightwing had.

_ “Oh, hey, Kaldur! Yeah, I’m looking for the generator cores that Stagg is developing. The Batmobile doesn’t work with the one it has now and with all the gas around, so I’m going to switch them out.” _

“YOU ARE NOT GOING INTO THE GAS CLOUD!!” Nightwing shouted.

_ “Then I guess you better catch me before I get to the Batmobile, then. Look up.” _

On her command, everyone looked up to see a figure in the distance falling from the sky.

Right toward the Batmobile’s last location.

“Shit…” Nightwing cursed as the figure disappeared into the thick orange cloud covering the streets of Gotham.

Wally landed on her feet, albeit unsteadily, by the Batmobile, locating the power core and slowly pulling it out.

She could hear garbled words over the comms, but she couldn’t make them out.

Not like she had time to answer.

This was delicate work and needed all of her concentration.

A few coughs bubbled out of her throat, her eyes burning with tears and orange veins appearing on her skin as she kept herself exposed to the toxin.

“Just… a little… more…” she rasped, slowly pushing the new core back into the car.

Once it was locked into place, she quickly unlocked the cockpit and clambering inside, taking a few uneasy and heavy breaths as she forced herself to calm down.

_ “KF?? KF?! Wally, can you hear me?!” _

The image of Nightwing popped up on the dashboard.

“I’m… I’m fine… Just give me a bit, okay?”

_ “You’re not fine! Do you even know how much toxin you just inhaled while doing that?! Do you know it permeated through your clothes?! Or should I say my clothes since that’s my Robin costume.” _

“You… weren’t using it… I’m going after the plant… Ivy told me what to do, so I’m going to help her…”

_ “You should let someone else handle this. You need to rest after being exposed to the toxin like that!” _

“And risk having someone else fall victim to it? I don’t think so. It’ll pass through my system faster than-”

A hand slapped against the window, Wally yelping in surprise and turning to see

A broken and bloodied Nightwing.

“What…? But-”

She blinked and the image was gone.

Replaced by some nameless thug instead.

_ “Wally? Are you okay?” _

“Y-Yeah, just… thought I saw something. It’s just some jackass thug, though… I’ll be going underground.”

_ “I should be able to keep up comms while you’re down there. What’s the plan?” _

She huffed a small laugh.

“Finally letting me join the party?”

_ “You haven’t given me much of a choice.” _

“Ivy said we need to ‘wake up’ the roots to this other tree. According to Alfred and Mr. Fox, the Batmobile’s sonar function should be able to wake it up with a big enough blast from it. With the other tree woken up, Ivy will be able to produce enough spores to disperse the fear gas cloud. I’ll rendezvous with you guys after it’s gone.”

_ “Have you been able to contact Robin at all? He’s not answering his comms.” _

“He’s fine. I have him all set up with how to make the Joker toxin cure and he’s keeping an eye on Harley for me while I’m gone. Don’t worry about him.”

_ “Alright, if you say so.” _

“I do say so. I’m heading to the location now. But for my own personal enjoyment, how do I transform this thing into a battle tank?”

Nightwing chuckled.

_ “See that lever by your left hand? Just pull that and you’ll be in battle mode.” _

“Sweet. See you on the other side, blue bird.”

“My, what a character she is,” the odd Wally said. “But you brought that on yourself.”

“Stubborn bitch…” Artemis muttered. “You see what happens when you don’t let her join in on the fun?”

“Consider me traught and whelmed on the matter,” he grumbled, frowning when he couldn’t accurately track the Batmobile. “Looks like the cloud is interfering with, well, everything. Guess all we can do is wait until she gets back.”

_ “Hey, I have a quick question and I need a quick answer,”  _ Wally said over the comms.

“What’s up?”

_ “Where do I aim at these tanks to blow them up faster?” _

“You see their weapon mounts? Aim for right in the middle there. Might take a couple shots from the 60 mm cannon, but you’ll get rid of them quick.”

_ “Nice! Gotta go!” _

The sound of explosions in the distance alerted them to her location.

“Sounds like she’s having more fun than me with the Bat-tank.”

“Why does Batman have a tank?” Conner asked.

“Just in case,” Nightwing and Babs answered together.

“It’s mostly used as a Batmobile, though,” Babs explained further. “And anyway, the one he let Nightwing take is just a beta model, essentially. It’s not the real Batmobile.”

“He’d kill us if something happened to the real one on our watch.”

“We… can’t tell if he’s joking or not. We usually lean more towards him not joking.”

“He’s told unintentional jokes before, though…”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t appreciate it when you laugh at them.”

_ “I can still hear you guys talking and I have to say that sometimes Batman is fucking hilarious.” _

“Funnier than your uncle?” Nightwing asked.

_ “Sometimes. He still hasn’t asked for the SB expenses credit card back that he sent me and just keeps paying it off whenever I use it. I use it to buy Jitters.” _

“So Batman is the one paying for our ridiculous coffee orders?”

_ “Yep, and he hasn’t said a word about it. I’m underground, by the way. Those militia guys have a camp set up down here that I totally ruined.” _

“That’s not very nice.”

_ “They shot at me first. It was self defense at that point.” _

“Ah, fair point, then. How far are you from the plant?”

_ “Not too far, but it’s like an amusement park down here! I literally drove upside down at certain points! Can you ask Bats if I can have a Batmobile?” _

“You can literally run faster than that car.”

_ “Yeah, but I don’t turn into a tank. I’d like to see Captain Cold mess me with after seeing this!” _

“I don’t think he’s going to give you a Batmobile.”

_ “Boo!” _

“I thought you didn’t like cars because you can run so fast.”

_ “This is not a car. It’s a tank.” _

“Fair point, but no one is letting you bring a tank into Central.”

_ “Ugh, fine… Anyway, I’m almost at the plant’s roots. Then Ivy should be able to create enough spores.” _

“And then we’ll turn her back into GCPD.”

_ “After we catch Scarecrow. She’s not going to leave the Botanical Gardens.” _

“Fine. After Scarecrow. You have a plan for going after him?”

_ “I will fill you in on my ideas once we meet up. Rendezvous at the first meeting spot?” _

“Always the go-to. We’ll meet you there.”

_ “Cool. See you then.” _

Nightwing let out a breath, already turning to leave.

“Wait, what meeting place is she talking about?” Artemis asked, grabbing his arm. “We need communication, Dork Wonder.”

“ACE Chemicals building. On the roof, a bit away from the sign. It was the first place I ever met her, so we use it as a rendezvous point for most things.”

“Oh, that’s why you always make Jaybird and I come around there for mission briefs,” Babs said. “Very inconvenient, if you ask me.”

“Unfortunate. Come on, we should head over and meet her there.”

_ “You’re right on top of her, little speedster,”  _ Ivy said over the comms.  _ “Go ahead and wake her up for me.” _

“Are you calling me ‘little’ because I’m short or because I’m younger than you?”

_ “Does it matter?” _

“...Guess not,” she mumbled, activating a sonar blast. “Did it work? Did I do it right?”

_ “Of course you did, dear. But I fear the militia will try to take her out again before she can fully mature.” _

“Then I’ll come to you and protect her. Can I trust you to help?”

_ “I will not harm a single hair on your pretty little red head. You can guarantee that, lovely.” _

“Well… alright. I’m exiting the tunnels now and heading to your location to take out the militia tanks.”

_ “Wonderful. I will have to thank you properly once this mess is over.” _

“It’s what I do.”

_ “Nightwing is a very lucky boy.” _

“More like the other way around, but sure. Let’s take out these militia assholes.”

_ “I’ve got your back.” _

Once the militia tanks were taken care of, Wally parked the Batmobile and contacted Ivy again.

“Okay, they’re all gone. How much longer until she’s fully mature?”

_ “Patience. Just give her a few moments.” _

True to her word, the thick trunks of the sprouted vines slowly turned brown, covering themselves in bark.

_ “She’s ready. Are you?” _

Wally laughed.

“I don’t have any other part to play with this spore thing! But I can’t wait to get out of this car and stretch my legs!”

_ “Very well. You played your part beautifully. Now let nature take control.” _

Wally smiled as she watched through the windshield.

The orange gas cloud slowly dissipated right in front of her eyes, leaving the sky clear again and the immediate threat gone.

_ “It is safe for you to stretch your legs. And tell Nightwing I will go quietly once the night is over.” _

“Will do.”

She hopped out of the Batmobile, stretching and letting out a small groan as her back cracked.

“Phew… Alright, time to get to ACE Chemicals…”

Nightwing hummed as he slowly paced back and forth on the edge of the rooftop, waiting patiently for Wally to show up.

As he turned to pace back the other way, he nearly stumbled.

The odd Wally didn’t look the same as she had before.

Her eyes had lost their light.

Blood dripped out of her nose and past her lips.

She looked…

“Something wrong, Dick Grayson?”

He shook his head to clear it, going back to pacing without acknowledging the spectre.

“Hey, what’s up? I’m here now!”

“Jeez, weirdo, keeping us waiting like that…” Artemis mumbled.

“Good to see you, too, Artie. So, my plan, right? You’re gonna think it’s stupid.”

“Probably better than anything we’ve got right now,” Nightwing said, walking over. “What do you have in mind?”

Wally gave a small smirk.

“We wait.”


	50. Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Bat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the end of the Arkham Knight plotline!!
> 
> I feel like people weren't enjoying this one much, but I can't really tell since I haven't gotten any comments - negative or positive.
> 
> But for those who didn't like it, it's over!
> 
> And for those who did, it's still over, so I'm sorry!

The Batmobile zipped through the streets, tracking the Cloudburst and blasting any militia tanks out of the way.

_ “What do you mean, ‘we wait’?!” Nightwing asked, completely stunned by her plan. _

_ “Exactly what it sounds like,” Wally said confidently. “But hear me out first. We’ll wait, but we also need to draw Scarecrow out. And what better way to do that than destroying his weapon?” _

“I’ve got eyes on the Cloudburst,” Babs said from behind the wheel. “Going in for the kill.”

“Bold choice of words,” Wally said from her perch on top of the ACE Chemicals sign. “Show the militia who’s boss.”

Babs smirked, firing the Batmobile’s weapons relentlessly at the tank containing the Cloudburst.

_ “So we destroy the Cloudburst,” Artemis said. “Then what?” _

The tank and the Cloudburst machine exploded, the threat neutralized.

_ “Then? We wait for him to make his move.” _

“Alright, that’s taken care of…” Wally mumbled to herself. “Now, let’s see how mad he is…”

“Why are you talking to yourself up there?? I’m right here!”

“I think this Robin costume has me thinking like a Bat-child!” she called back, sticking her tongue out at Nightwing with a playful smirk. “All brooding and talking to myself all the time!”

“I don’t brood!”

She snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Okay, Dork Wonder.”

“There’s no need for name calling.”

“It’s not name calling! Name calling would be me calling you a bitch.”

“Rude.”

She stuck her tongue out at him again before patting the space next to her invitingly.

“There’s room for two up here.”

He rolled his eyes before hopping up next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“...How long until he makes his move, do you think?” he asked softly.

“Shouldn’t be long now. We’re throwing wrenches into his plan, so he’ll get frustrated eventually. Probably show up on all those screens around Gotham to give us a message.”

“How predictable.”

She laughed softly.

“Aren’t all of our villains predictable by this point? I mean, Captain Cold comes around with his cold gun, we stop him, he escapes and steals it back! Cycle repeats itself…”

“Sounds like you get bored of it pretty quick. No pun intended. This must be a breath of fresh air for you.”

She snorted and smiled, leaning against his side.

“As if every day with the Team isn’t something weird or new. I mean, just the other day, Gar tried to see if he could outrun me as a cheetah. He could not, by the way.”

“Speaking of running. Have you-”

He was cut off as a few screens nearby flickered to life, switching from the usual advertisements to Scarecrow’s face.

_ “You may think you’ve outplayed me, little heroes. But I am always one step ahead of you. After all, you left valuable allies all by themselves.” _

Just then, over the comms, Babs sounded panicked.

_ “Nightwing, Commissioner Gordon’s voice was just used to unlock Panessa Studios! He’s got…!” _

“Jaybird…” Wally whispered, fear flashing across her features for just a moment before it disappeared.

“Alright, we’ll rendezvous at the studios and meet KF there.”

Wally was already there, stopping just before the now closed gate.

“Let me in! Now!” she shouted at the intercom box.

_ Voice pattern recognized. Welcome, Kid Flash. _

She bounced anxiously as the elevator slowly descended, pacing a bit to try and release some of her nervous energy.

She was out of the elevator before the gate opened completely, immediately running over to the cell that she had locked Jason in.

All that met her was an upside down Bat symbol and two evil black eyes.

“You could have saved me…” Jason’s voice said from somewhere behind her.

She turned quickly, but saw nothing.

She had to hurry.

It was her fault that Jason was taken in the first place.

“KF, what’s your status? Did you get into the studios?” Nightwing asked.

There was silence for a few moments.

“KF! Report!”

_ “...It’s all my fault. I’m… I need to fix this.” _

“Where are you going?”

_ “To finish this already! Robin and the commissioner are in danger, so I’m going after them!” _

“Wait for backup!”

_ “Arkham Asylum, abandoned wing. You better catch up if you want to stop me.” _

Her comms shut off.

Nightwing groaned in frustration, contacting the rest of his Team and relaying the information.

“A stubborn girl, she is…” the odd Wally mumbled, still looking quite dead. “Pray you get to her in time, Dick Grayson. Her fear is fueling her actions.”

“The fear toxin should have left her system by now…”

“It is very potent, as you know. But we fear that she may get more than her body can handle.”

“Fuck… Alright, good thing I can track both Jaybird and Wally through their wrist computers.”

Meanwhile, Wally snuck into the abandoned Arkham Asylum, darting through the halls and peeking in every room until she found her target.

“And here I thought Batman would come for his new protege,” a voice said from her right.

Before she could run, Scarecrow grabbed her arm and dragged her further into the room.

“You can join the fun. I’m sure this will at least get Nightwing and your friends here.”

“Let the commissioner and Robin go…!”

“You’re in no position to be making demands, little girl. However, you may be of some use to me.”

“We need to hurry before KF gets herself and the hostages into more trouble!”

“Relax, would you?!” Artemis complained. “She’s stubborn, not stupid! I’m sure she knows what she’s doing!”

“With the fear toxin still pumping through her system? She’s not thinking straight!”

“And neither are you! You’re probably worse off than she is!”

“She locked Jason in a cell!”

“There’s probably more to that story that we don’t know! You know how she gets when she’s trying to protect people. Add to that, that Robin is younger than her! Just like you! It seems like you keep forgetting that before Jason, you were the youngest person on the Team. You think you’re looking out for her, but she’s probably looking out for you right now.”

“This is my mission-”

“ _ Your  _ mission, yes. But you’re also her boyfriend and she gets blinded by her need to help other people like the hero she is. We probably could have wrapped up this mission hours ago if you hadn’t locked her in the movie studios to work on some cure we really don’t need anymore.”

“She’s not safe-”

“And we are?! She’s a hero just like the rest of us! Fuck whatever omnipotent being said about her future! Let her live, Grayson!”

There was a pause in their argument.

“...How did you…?”

“You’re not as slick as you think, Dork Wonder. Introducing us to Jason and Babs with their real names like we wouldn’t trace Jason back to Bruce Wayne and then to Dick Grayson? That was a dumb move on your part. We’re smarter than you think.”

He stared at her.

“Wally put the pieces together, didn’t she?”

“Yes, but she was very cagey about giving us a straight answer if we asked. Kaldur and Kon broke her down, though, while Babs laughed at us for not figuring out sooner. How’d the weirdo know?”

“She uh… I may have left a bad impression on her as Dick Grayson and then apparently she did a ludicrous amount of research - including finding out my blood type which was creepy - before finally settling on Dick Grayson and Robin having the same exact laugh.”

“Fair point. I would say that should have tipped us off, but I’ve never met you as Dick Grayson.”

The screens nearby flickered to life.

And there was Scarecrow.

One of his hands was wrapped around her neck.

And the other was keeping the syringes on his glove close to her skin.

_ “Nightwing, I know you are watching this. So consumed by fear that you’ve let yet another ally get captured. Now you get to watch her downfall.” _

Wally winced on screen as the needles punctured her skin, the orange liquid in the syringes disappearing into her body.

He let her drop to the ground roughly as he walked off camera.

It panned down to see Wally on the ground struggling to keep herself calm.

“We need to pick up the pace,” Nightwing said. “And of course she left the Batmobile by the botanical gardens…”

“Can’t you just summon it like Batman?”

“That’s not something I can do with this costume just yet. C’mon, we’re almost there. Aqualad, take the rest of the Team and rendezvous with us at Arkham.”

_ “Understood.” _

Wally gasped for breath as she stared with wide fearful eyes in Jason’s direction.

And Jason stared back at her with dead eyes, blood dripping down one side of his face.

Cuts and bruises littered his body and any exposed skin.

She fought the urge to scream.

“I wonder what you see that has you trembling like that,” Scarecrow said.

She swallowed heavily, managing to tear her eyes away from Jason…

Only to see the broken bodies of Roy and Harper lying motionless on the floor.

“No…” she whispered. “Not them… Please not them… She’s just a kid…”

Ignoring her mumbling, Scarecrow walked around her toward Jason, his glove raised.

“Now let’s see what you fear, little bird.”

Wally’s attention immediately snapped over to the scene, her breath hitching at what she saw.

Scarecrow was gone.

And in his place was her father, fists raised and ready to hurt the already broken and dead Jason.

She hardly realized that they now had a live audience as she ran forward, in between her father and Jason in a second.

“What are you doing?!” Gordon shouted.

“You can’t take anymore!” Jason called out, trying to shove her out of the way.

“I have to protect you…” she whispered as the needles punctured her skin once more.

“Nightwing, we have a problem,” Babs said into her comms.

_ “We’re crossing the bridge to Arkham now! What’s going on?!” _

“Kid Flash has taken two straight doses of the fear toxin. In a row. We saw the one on screen, but she just took another dose while protecting Robin.”

_ “Shit. We’re almost there. And I’ve called in heavy duty reinforcements.” _

“You mean-”

_ “We need the help.” _

“I… Okay. We’ll apprehend Scarecrow and try to keep Kid out of any more danger.”

_ “How bad is she?” _

Babs looked over at Wally.

She was cowering against the wall, mumbling frantically to herself and flinching away from any offer to help from Commissioner Gordan and Jason.

“Pretty bad. How soon until our backup arrives?”

_ “Look up.” _

She obeyed, looking up at the glass ceiling just as a caped figure came crashing through.

Wally flinched heavily at the sound of broken glass and the thud of someone landing on the ground, shakily peeking out of her arms.

A dark looming figure stood in her line of sight, its back turned to her as bats seemed to fly out of the shadows of its cape.

In fact, it almost seemed to be made of bats.

It turned its head to look at her, bright orange eyes staring directly at her.

She quickly covered her face to avoid eye contact with it.

The Batman.

“It’s over, Scarecrow,” Batman said, voice deep and booming through the now silent room.

“It’s not over until I show Gotham who Batman truly is.”

“That’s a shame! Then this night will never be over!” came a different voice.

Nightwing and Artemis burst into the room, Artemis shooting a trick arrow to tangle up Scarecrow’s legs as Nightwing tackled him to the ground.

“How about we give the good doctor a taste of his own medicine?” Nightwing asked, holding him up for Batman to see.

“We’ll see how he likes it.”

Batman grabbed Scarecrow’s gloved hand as Nightwing grabbed his chin to show his neck.

And with little effort, the needles were plunged into Scarecrow’s skin, injecting him with his own fear toxin.

“Disarm him and get him loaded into my Batmobile. Artemis, help Nightwing if he needs it. Miss Martian, Batgirl, check on the commissioner and Robin. Ensure they’re not harmed and give them basic first aid if needed. The rest of you stand by and prepare to corner Kid Flash if she tries to run.”

“Is that wise?” Kaldur asked. “You of all people should know her tendencies when she feels threatened while cornered.”

“Our goal isn’t to calm her down right now,” he explained. “She’s taken too many doses of the fear toxin in quick succession. We need to get her unconscious and over to STAR Labs in Central City.”

“Why there?” Bumblebee asked. “Isn’t there one here?”

“A familiar setting will help her calm down,” Conner said. “If you can corral her toward me, I can grab her and knock her out quick.”

“Very well. Be prepared to take a few hits, all of you. Her fight or flight instincts will be on high alert as soon as I get near her.”

The rest of the Team took their positions as Batman stepped toward the cowering speedster.

As soon as she was aware of how close The Batman was getting, she was on her feet and putting distance between them.

But she had limited places to go.

All around her were the living corpses of her friends, all keeping her confined in the room.

She mumbled apologies as blame was thrown at her for not protecting them, not being fast enough.

Taking shaking steps backwards, she didn’t realize she was falling right into their trap until her back hit something.

Strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her arms pinned.

But that didn’t stop her from struggling.

The last thing she saw was a trick arrow flying toward her, the red fist at the end colliding with her face before black took over her vision.

“She’s a brave one, that girl,” Gordon said as he and Batman watched Nightwing start to load her into the spare Batmobile. “Didn’t even hesitate to protect Robin from the fear toxin. Though, whatever she was seeing must have been bad. Wouldn’t stop mumbling about protecting people and that she was sorry.”

“She’s had a rough past, Jim. At any other time, I’m sure she would have appreciated your help with calming her down. But she was most likely not seeing you.”

“I’m not gonna ask what that kid’s been through. But anything I can do to help with the aftermath, just let me know. She’s a good kid. Reminds me of my daughter, almost.”

“You’re a good man, Jim. I’ll let you know if there’s anything you can do. But she’ll need time more than anything. Just about everyone in this room has experience with her.”

“So what’s the plan? You driving this thing into the middle of Central?” Artemis asked.

“No. I’m bringing it back to the Batcave and using the secure Zeta tube inside to take her into STAR Labs. If you want, I can drop you off at home on the way. Pretty sure we’ll be passing by your street.”

“Let me check with our leader. Hey, Aqualad!” she called out. “We doing a mission report all together?”

“Preferably, yes!” Kaldur called back. “Nightwing and Kid are the only ones properly excused!”

“Damn! Alright, well, safe trip home, Nightwing. I’ll come by and visit her when I get the chance tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. Uh, I’m probably gonna stay the night with her…”

“No, you’re not,” Batman said as he passed by to get to his own Batmobile.

“No, I’m not,” Nightwing confirmed with a sigh. “I guess I’ll meet you back in the Batcave, then.”

“No rush. We’ll be going over your mission after the Team report.”

“That makes it sound like I’m in trouble, but sure. I’ll be back later.”

Nightwing climbed into the driver’s seat, driving off toward Wayne Manor and the secret entrance to the Batcave.

“Welcome back, Master Grayson,” Alfred greeted. “How is Miss West faring?”

“Artie knocked her out, so I’m taking her back to STAR Labs in Central to get checked out. Can you send them everything we have on Scarecrow’s fear toxin?”

“Of course. Right away, sir. I am assuming Master Todd and Master Bruce will be returning together?”

“Right you are, Alfred. I’ll be back in a bit. Batman said no sleepovers tonight.”

“How unfortunate. Perhaps I can convince him otherwise after your debut review.”

Nightwing chuckled at that, shaking his head slightly as he carefully picked Wally up, taking the Zeta tube straight into STAR Labs Central.

“It is the middle of the night and you think it’s okay to just barge into here?!” Caitlin screeched as she stormed toward Nightwing.

“Well, it really couldn’t wait until morning. Did you get the files we sent you? It’ll help with the… situation.”

“What situ-”

Caitlin stopped as she finally saw the unconscious Wally, still dressed in Nightwing’s old Robin costume.

“Bring her into the lab. I’ll pull up the files you sent me and we’ll see what we can do. Fill me in on the way. Quickly! Let’s go!”

Nightwing obeyed without question, giving her the short version of the night’s events and what exactly happened to Wally.

“One dose from the cloud and two straight from the man himself…” Caitlin mumbled as she scanned the files for the important information that might help them. “The cloud dose should have left her system before she even got the first syringe dose, but getting two of those in a row might have dug up some things she was trying to forget. Get her hooked up to everything! What’re you just standing there for??”

“Isn’t Cisco usually here to help you?” Nightwing asked as he hooked Wally up to every machine nearby that he could reach.

“I sent him home for the night. Love the new costume, by the way. What’s the new mantle?”

“Nightwing.”

“Sounds cool. Alright! It looks like I can try to synthesize an antidote since the formula is in here. For now, she should rest up at home where she can see familiar faces. If the antidote fails, we may just have to let this run its course through her system - which hopefully won’t take too long - and keep an eye on her.”

Nightwing glanced at her vitals.

“Will she…”

He paused, trying to find the right way to phrase this.

“How will this… affect her after it’s all cleared from her system?”

Caitlin looked over at him.

“If you’re worried about her having to restart some of her recovery, we won’t know until the aftermath happens.”

Nightwing nodded, suppressing a sigh.

“...My turn to ask you a question. Why is she wearing that?”

“Y’know, I’m not really sure. One moment she was wearing her Kid Flash costume and the next, she showed up in my old Robin costume.”

“Sounds about right. Besides all the shit going on in her head right now, she’s good to go home. I’d suggest you change before heading out. Seeing you walking around like that would be weird. She’s got spare civvies in the changing room. Just pull it over the costume if you don’t wanna undress her.”

“Good thing the cape comes off.”

Once he had both of them changed, he carried her out of STAR Labs.

About halfway to her home, she stirred with a groan, one hand coming up to rub her head.

“Where am I…?” she mumbled softly, tilting her head backwards as some light caught her eye.

Streetlamps.

And not the ones in Gotham.

“You’re on your way home, Walls.”

She tilted her head back up to see Nightwing.

And as she blinked, his face shifted to a corpse, all blood and bruises and dead eyes.

She sucked in a panicked breath, looking away and looking back quickly to see it gone.

“You’re still under the effects of the toxin,” he said, keeping his voice calm. “Caitlin’s working on an antidote, but if that doesn’t work out, we’ll just have to let it get out of your system naturally. Think you can walk? Not that you’re heavy, but I’ve been meaning to give Barry a call.”

She gave a small nod, Nightwing stopping and setting her down on her feet, offering her his arm.

“...D-Did we get him, at least?”

“Yep. And we managed to track down Joker as well, so we’ve got them both away.”

“That’s good… And Jaybird? Is he alright? I mean, after I locked him in a cell and then he got kidnapped…”

He chuckled.

“He’s fine. A little pissed that you did lock him up and took a dose of fear toxin for him, but he’ll get over it. I can’t stay, by the way. As soon as you’re back home, I gotta run back to Gotham for a review of the night.”

She stayed silent for a moment, pressing against his side.

He took this moment to message Barry, giving him a heads up that they were on their way.

“...I saw Batman as… something else tonight.”

“What did you see?”

“A dark imposing figure made of shadows, but it also looked like it was made of bats a-and… these horrible glowing orange eyes…”

He nodded his understanding.

“You’re scared of him. That’s okay. Don’t tell him I said this, but… I am, too. To an extent.”

A beat, and then

“I think everyone is. But that’s alright. You know he’d never hurt you, right?”

“Of course he wouldn’t,” she answered immediately. “But that didn’t… erase the feeling of pure fear when I saw… The Batman. And I felt like maybe that’s what all of his villains and enemies feel like when they see him.”

“Probably. Wouldn’t be surprised.”

They turned the corner of Wally’s street.

And there was Barry, waiting on the edge of the lawn for them.

“Head on inside and have something to eat, kiddo. I’ll meet you there in a bit,” Barry said softly.

She did so without hesitation, ducking inside as fast as she could.

“I’m not gonna ask what happened tonight. And maybe I don’t want to know. But Kaldur and Artemis told me what you tried to do. You should’ve known better.”

“I know, I-”

“You should’ve known better,” Barry said again. “But I would’ve probably done the same, so I can’t fault you for that. Thanks for trying to protect her as long as you could tonight.”

Nightwing smiled softly.

“Thanks, Barry.”

“No problem, kid. Get going before the big bad Bat comes looking for you. I’ll handle her from here.”

Nightwing let out a laugh, bidding him goodbye.

Barry waited until he had disappeared from view before heading back inside.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said as he sat across from her. “Heard you were the MVP tonight. How’re you feeling?”

She glanced up at him.

And there was Barry, dead.

His voice was whispering about how she could have saved him, but his mouth wasn’t moving.

She let out a startled noise and nearly fell out of her chair.

He reached across the table, keeping her steady and making sure she was balanced again before letting go.

“Woah, hey, it’s alright…! What happened? What did you see?”

She swallowed, taking a deep breath.

“...I keep seeing everyone I care about dead… because of this stupid fear toxin. Even people who aren’t in the room with me. I-I saw… I saw Harper and Roy at the Asylum after the first dose.”

“None of that was real, Walls. Everyone’s fine. You know that.”

She nodded, staring down at her plate.

After a few moments of silence, she spoke up again.

“I… have never asked for this before, but… can I sleep with you and Aunt Iris tonight? I’m… scared…”

“Of course you can, kiddo.”


	51. Sleepless Nights and Waking Nightmares

Wally thought that maybe a good night’s sleep would clear her head and get rid of the fear toxin in her system.

But she hadn’t even been able to sleep, plagued with nightmares of her loved ones dying because of her.

This left her three coffees in at Mount Justice, tucked away in a corner of the living room by herself.

She wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone or even make conversation with them.

So they left her alone.

But that didn’t mean they weren’t talking about her.

She could hear their hushed conversations, see the glances they shot her if she happened to look up.

But she ignored them anyway.

It was that or seeing all of them dead.

So lost in her thoughts and musings, she didn’t realize the hushed conversations had stopped or the computer had read off a few designations.

Until black boots invaded her space.

“Kid Flash,” a deep voice said. “We need to talk.”

And she made the mistake of looking up.

That dark looming figure from the Asylum was back, glaring down at her with those horrible orange eyes.

And no matter how many times she blinked, The Batman did not disappear.

Her breathing picked up as panic and fear took over.

She blinked.

And The Batman was replaced by her father with the same orange eyes.

He reached for her.

And she was cornered, trapped with no way to escape.

Whatever was in front of her kept shifted between The Batman and her father as it reached for her.

She flinched as that hand came closer, bringing her arms up to cover her head as she curled up as much as she could to seem smaller.

But that hand never came down on her.

The oppressive feeling from The Batman was lifted, a warmer one replacing it.

“Hey… It’s alright, he’s gone,” a softer voice said. “Can you look at me?”

She shook her head, flinching away from his touch.

“Whatever you’re seeing isn’t real. You know that, right? Everyone’s fine and no one got seriously hurt last night. Not including feelings. We just want to talk about last night, okay?”

“The Batman…”

“The Batman won’t be there, I promise. And I’ll be right there with you along with Babs and Jaybird.”

Dick reached for her again, slightly relieved that she didn’t flinch away this time.

Carefully and gently, he pulled her to her feet.

He caught Kaldur’s worried glance, trying to give him a reassuring one back.

Years had gone by since Wally had flinched away from someone like that.

He led her out of the room and toward the conference room, Wally noting that the windows were dark and covered.

Once inside, the first thing she noticed was Batman’s cowl resting on the table.

“This was to make you more comfortable,” Bruce said. “I can’t fault you for being afraid of Batman. It’s his whole purpose.”

“...What about last night did you want to talk about?” she asked softly. “Because as far as I’m concerned, I don’t have anything to say except that I feel like shit for locking Jason in a cell because I thought I was protecting him and yet he still-”

“I’m not mad at you about that anymore,” Jason said. “I was mad at first, but… I understand why you did it. Artemis and Kaldur told me you tend to be more protective of people younger than you.”

“Most of the Team is younger than me. Always has been, with Kaldur being the exception since he’s only a little under a year older than me…”

“Dick told me that you said you saw Red Arrow’s body while in the Asylum,” Bruce said.

She nodded, clutching her hands together to hide how much she was shaking.

“...I don’t know where he is again, so… I’m scared that what I saw is reality… That maybe he really is out there somewhere, hurt and alone… or worse. And Harper…!”

“Harper is safe in Central City. She has two superheroes to look out for her.”

“But I still feel personally responsible for her!” Wally shouted. “ _ I’m  _ the one who rescued her from that fucking abuse situation!  _ I’m  _ the one who made her feel safe and loved for once in her life! I’m her favorite hero and if something horrible happened to her, it would be my fault for not being there to protect her!”

“That explains all of her actions last night…” Babs whispered.

Bruce let out a soft breath and knelt in front of her, tilting her chin up so she was looking him in the eye.

She didn’t see a corpse.

Only the face of Bruce Wayne.

“You are a true hero, Wally. You care about the people you save and even some of your villains because you understand that sometimes they just need help. But you follow your heart too much. That’s a double edged mentality that’s gotten you in trouble in the past and will continue to do so well into the future.”

“Wha-”

“It’s noble of you to try and protect everyone you care about, but you can’t forget that all of your friends are trained heroes just like you. Some of them have less experience and need a little more backup, but that’s what all of this training is for. Dick may be younger than you, but he’s been at this game longer than you have. And you’re both too desperate to protect each other without communicating.”

“Ain’t that the truth?” Jason scoffed. “Locking her up in a lab only led to the latter half of the night and you know it.”

“...I don’t want anyone to get hurt because I’m not fast enough…” she whispered.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“You’re always going to be fast enough to be there for your friends and Teammates.”

The tension in her shoulders relaxed at his words.

“...You still haven’t told me what we’re supposed to actually be talking about here.”

He chuckled and got to his feet.

“You’ve got me there. We want to talk about your actions last night as well as the fear toxin affecting your system and how that’s affecting your…”

A small pause as he thought of the best way to phrase it.

“...It’s okay. You can call them my psychological issues. God knows Caitlin and Cisco do it to my face already, so I’m used to it,” she mumbled.

Dick whistled low, leaning against the wall.

“That’s the first time you’ve called them that. I’m proud.”

“I’m tired of pretending they don’t exist… Especially since…”

She shook her head.

“Nevermind. We’ll get to that. What about my actions last night?”

“Jason told us what he knew from last night up until you locked him in one of the cells and left. Give us an abridged beginning and then continue on from there,” Bruce said, taking a seat across from her.

Not once did she take her eyes off of him.

“So, you called Uncle Barry to send me to Gotham for a super important mission. I get there and get taken to Panessa Studios to make some dumb cure to the Joker toxin that we ended up not needing,” she said, shooting Dick a pointed look. “Harley showed up and broke out the Joker wannabes, but didn’t have a plan for after that. I managed to distract her with girl talk until Nightwing, Artie, Kon, and Gar showed up for backup.

Joker wannabes dropped dead, I locked up Harley, and then I got pissy because Nightwing wouldn’t get me my Joker toxin sample so I could keep making our useless cure. So I went and got it myself with Kaldur as backup. Got what I needed while getting a minor dose - so minor it was gone from my system within an hour - of the Joker toxin before heading back to the studios. Cure stuff happened, Cloudburst happened, I locked Jaybird up and disabled his comms. And borrowed a Robin suit.”

“He doesn’t need it anymore. Go on.”

“What if I need it?” Jason asked with a pout.

“You have your own. Continue, Wally.”

“So I left Panessa Studios and eavesdropped on any conversations the Team was having. I found out through them that Poison Ivy was the key to dispersing the fear toxin cloud. So I went looking for her and found her in the botanical gardens, of course. She surprisingly was very cooperative with me and agreed to help. Even told me what she needed specifically. The Batmobile was disabled, so I found out through some research that the Cloudburst ran on a specific energy core made by Stagg Industries.

I invaded the airships and convinced Mr. Stagg to give me one. Right before I locked him in one of the cages because he was helping Scarecrow. After that, I managed to track down the Batmobile’s last location so I could switch the energy cores. So I jumped into the gas cloud - even though Nightwing was yelling at me not to do it - and got the cores switched and the Batmobile running. I helped out Ivy by finding her plant roots underground and waking them up for her. Took out some of those Militia tanks, which was fun. Ivy dispersed the cloud and I met back up with the Team!”

“After that, she formulated her ‘sit and wait’ plan,” Dick added. “Babs took over the Batmobile and took out the Cloudburst and then we waited for Scarecrow to make his move.”

“Unfortunately, that move was kidnapping both Commissioner Gordon and Jason. I ran back to the studios to find him actually gone and then I went to the Asylum myself. It might’ve been the fear toxin, but I had a bad feeling something was going to happen. Turns out I was right, but about the wrong person. Scarecrow used me as an example, I got a dose of the toxin and then another one because he tried attacking Jason and you know how the rest of the night went,” she finished. “I actually don’t remember much of what happened after the second dose.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Bruce said. “Tell me what you’ve been seeing since you took those doses.”

She pressed her lips together in a thin line, bowing her head and trying to will away how much she was shaking.

“...I see…” she mumbled, her voice trembling slightly. “I see everyone dead… all the time… and they all keep saying it’s my fault they’re dead. That I wasn’t fast enough. That I failed…”

“You don’t have to try and save everyone,” Babs said softly. “Everyone on the Team is trained to take care of themselves.”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re kids!”

“You’re a kid, too!” Jason shot back.

“I turn 18 years old next month! Tell me I’m still a child, Jason!” she snapped, regret immediately filling her face. “...I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have yelled like that…”

“You shouldn’t have to apologize for something like that,” Jason continued. “I’m not mad about that. And yeah, I get that you don’t like getting angry because you think a hero shouldn’t be angry.”

He stalked forward, grabbing the front of her sweatshirt and pulling her up until they were eye level.

“Be a human being for once. Get angry! Get upset! Let yourself feel actual emotions and not put on those masks you call your feelings everyday! You never got to be a child, so why won’t you let yourself be one once in a while?! Huh?!”

Wally stared at him, wide eyed.

Even his corpse was angry at her.

She trembled in his grasp, unable to move.

Unable to speak.

Her face turned pale, a sick feeling in her chest and stomach.

“Jason, let go and back away from her!” Dick said sternly, already recognizing the signs of her oncoming panic attack.

Jason obeyed without question, letting her drop back into the chair and quickly backing away from her.

Dick was at her side, shoving a trash can into her hands as she emptied her stomach.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright…” he murmured, placing a gentle hand on her back.

She violently flinched away from his touch.

“...Judging by her violent reaction, she saw Jason dead,” Bruce said. “And she hasn’t told us everything that she’s seen. Isn’t that right, Wally?”

She visibly tensed at his words, sobs bubbling out of her throat.

“Please… Please don’t make me say it…” she mumbled. “Please… I haven’t…! I haven’t seen…! In such a long time…! Why now…?”

Dick stared at her, realization hitting him like a truck.

“She’s been seeing her father because of the fear toxin.”

The mere mention of her father had Wally emptying her stomach again, her sobs uncontrollable as her panic rose.

Bruce caught Dick’s eye, nodding toward the furthest corner for a Batfamily meeting.

“How much progress do you think this is going to erase?” Dick asked quietly, standing in the perfect spot to both stay in the conversation and keep an eye on Wally.

“With how bad her reaction is? Too much,” Bruce admitted. “We’re going to have to keep an eye on her and judge just how bad this is once the fear toxin is out of her system. How’s the antidote coming along at STAR Labs?”

“Caitlin’s working on it still. She said she’d contact me as soon as she-”

His phone went off.

“Are we sure she’s not psychic?” Jason muttered.

“We don’t know if it’s her,” Dick said, pulling out his phone. “...It’s her. She says she has the antidote ready if someone wants to run over and grab it.”

Jason pouted, letting out a small sigh.

“I’ll go,” he said, stepping forward. “She took a dose for me. It’s the least I can do to repay her.”

Bruce nodded.

“Don’t take too much time. You’re only there for the antidote.”

“...I knew that already.”

“What he means is,” Dick added. “Don’t let Cisco and Caitlin rope you into any kind of conversation about yourself or anything really. You won’t leave for hours.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Be right back.”

Jason hurried out of the room and toward the Zeta tubes, ignoring any questions thrown his way about what he was doing and where he was going.

“The antidote. Give it to me,” Jason demanded as soon as he appeared in STAR Labs, holding his hand out expectantly.

“A ‘please’ would be nice, you know,” Caitlin said, handing it over anyway. “Don’t give her all of it at once. Half a dose now and the other half if she’s still seeing things.”

“Got it. Nightwing will let you know how it goes.”

He turned to leave, holding up a hand when Cisco tried to talk to him.

“Don’t speak to me. I’m on a mission. I was warned about you.”

One harsh glare was enough to send Cisco away, Jason huffing as he stepped back into the Zeta tube.

His next step was in Mount Justice, once again ignoring his Teammates to duck back into the conference room.

“Got it. Half a dose now, the other half is just in case the first one doesn’t work.”

Dick nodded and took it from him, frowning slightly.

“...This is a needle.”

“Excellent observation, Grayson.”

“No, I mean… She’s not going to let us anywhere near her with this thing. Not with how much she’s panicking.”

Bruce nodded his agreement.

“Get the Team ready. Tell them to prepare to capture and distract Kid Flash. Once that’s complete, one of you will have to inject her with the antidote.”

“We’ll lose some of her trust if we pull this off,” Dick warned.

“It’s a risk we have to take. Now go.”

Dick nodded, hurrying out of the room and gathering the Team.

“So, long story short we need to administer an antidote to Wally, but it’s a needle so we need to capture her first and/or distract her long enough for one of us to get the dose we need in her system. Any questions? Ask them now.”

“Uh…” Gar said, raising his hand. “How are we supposed to catch her? She’s a lot faster than us.”

“We can corral her into a trap to stop her from running. But we’ll need to make sure we can get behind her so she doesn’t see the needle. Whatever you guys plan is entirely up to you. I’m on the antidote administration team. I’ll message Kaldur when we’re ready to release her.”

“She’s gonna hate us,” Artemis muttered.

“She’ll get over it. Trick arrows are allowed, but no brute force that could hurt her. She’s been seeing her father due to the fear toxin and it’s dragging out bad memories.”

“A truly undesirable situation,” Kaldur murmured. “We cannot let her fall back into her past. She has worked too hard to get where she is now.”

“It’s going to be a Team effort this time around. I’ll be back.”

He stepped back into the conference room, nodding at Bruce.

“They’re ready. I gave them the brief. Who’s going to use the antidote?”

“Whoever can get closest to her. If you have to pass it between the three of you, do so,” Bruce said. “Tell Aqualad to get ready.”

“How are we scaring her out?” Jason asked.

“She’s terrified of The Batman. So we’ll get The Batman to make her run.”

Dick nodded, shooting Kaldur a quick text and heading over to the door, gripping the handle.

Bruce pulled his cowl back on, giving him a nod.

He nodded back and opened the door.

Wally looked up when familiar black boots appeared in the corner of her vision.

And there were those horrible orange eyes and the flickering between that black mass of shadows and bats, and her father.

Flight took over her fight or flight instincts, sending her out the now open door.

As soon as they saw her approaching the door, Artemis shot a trick arrow at the area around her legs, successfully tangling them in a rope and sending her to the ground.

The corpses of her friends surrounded her as she frantically tried to untangle herself.

With her back turned, Jason snuck up on her, ducking past Zatanna and Raquel with the needle in hand.

Dick approached her from the front, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her hands.

“Hey, just relax, alright?” he murmured. “We’re trying to help you. You don’t have to run. What you’re seeing isn’t real.”

She shook her head, but didn’t try to pull her hands away.

Jason was getting closer, keeping his footsteps as silent as possible so he didn’t startle her.

A scuff from his sneakers caught her attention, her head starting to turn to look.

Dick released her hands and grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him as he pulled her into a kiss.

Jason stuck his tongue out in disgust, but continued.

He pushed the needle into her now somewhat relaxed neck, injecting about half of the dosage before pulling the needle out and backing away.

Wally pulled away first, a hand coming up to cover where the needle was injected.

“What did you just do to me?!”

“Gave you the antidote Caitlin brewed up for us. Only half of it, though,” Dick explained. “She said if you keep displaying symptoms of being under the fear toxin, we’ll have to give you the other half.”

She swallowed heavily, still looking as pale as she had been in the conference room.

Without another word, she was gone from her circle of friends in the blink of an eye.

Dick looked up to see her already having her notebooks out on the kitchen island.

He nodded his understanding to no one in particular, getting to his feet.

“Kaldur, let’s keep an eye on her condition. Depending on how much she regresses will alter our methods to help her. Fill everyone else in on what we’re talking about and what we can do to help.”

“Of course. And what will you do?”

“I’m going to see how bad the damage is now and go from there. She’s just working on her notebooks, so I can’t glean too much from that.”

Kaldur nodded.

“She may let you get close. You have taken over the pillar that Roy Harper once occupied.”

“Let’s hope you’re right…”

He took a deep breath before heading toward the kitchen.

He didn’t step inside just yet, leaning against the doorway and knocking lightly on it to alert her to his presence.

She flinched slightly, glancing up at him before looking back down.

He didn’t move.

“How are you feeling? Any better?”

She shrugged.

He nodded, finally stepping inside to stand across from her.

“Do you still see me as a corpse if you look at me?” he asked, keeping his voice soft.

She hesitated, pen scratchings pausing for just a moment before continuing.

She didn’t look at him.

“It’s alright if you do. We’ll give the antidote the rest of the day to get into your system and if it’s still bad, we’ll give you the rest. But I think it’d be nice if you could look at everyone without being afraid.”

She hesitated again.

But raised her head.

And there was Dick Grayson.

Not the corpse of Dick Grayson, just him.

Alive and smiling at her.

He gave a small chuckle and tilted his head.

“You don’t have any fear in your eyes. I guess the antidote is working. Are you feeling better, though?”

“...Yeah. I’m… starting to… But…”

“But what?”

She pouted, reaching across the counter and smacking him lightly on the top of his head with a blue notebook before holding it out so he could see it.

“Changing your mantle like that…! You’re forcing me to make a brand new notebook for you! The audacity!”

He laughed softly, gently taking the notebook.

“You may have to get used to it. Jay’s not gonna be Robin forever, too. And who knows what Babs is gonna do in the future.”

“You Gotham heroes and changing titles like that… Honestly…” she grumbled lightly.

He laughed again, moving so he was sitting next to her.

“So, your performance in Gotham really impressed a close work friend of Batman. To the point where he’s considering coordinating with STAR Labs on projects from now on. As long as you have your hands in them, of course.”

Wally huffed a laugh, going back to her notebooks.

“Tell Mr. Fox he can set up a meeting and we’ll talk about it.”

“Noted. And I’ll make sure he’s properly whelmed to deal with you crazy STAR Labs scientists.”

She huffed another laugh.

He smiled softly at her.

She’d be okay.

Maybe not right away, but she’d be okay.

He won’t let her fall like that again.


	52. Trick Or Treat, (Bitter)sweet Reunions

Life was…

Okay for Wally West.

That night in Gotham still plagued her mind, but she was doing her best to not let it get to her.

Though, it seemed as if everyone around her was aware of whenever her focus slipped and she started to panic.

But she wasn’t going to let that ruin tonight.

It was her favorite holiday, after all.

And the last time she would have the chance to go trick or treating before she graduated high school.

(Unless, of course, a certain little girl insisted they go trick or treating together every year. But that remained to be seen.)

“Alright, kiddo,” Barry said with a smile as he handed her the biggest backpack she owned. “Have fun and don’t get into too much trouble tonight, alright?”

“Uncle Barry, we’ve never gotten in trouble while trick or treating,” she said, a small smile on her lips. “Besides, we have to set a good example for Harper tonight. So not too much mischief this year.”

“How many of your friends are you dragging around the country this year?”

“Pretty much all of them. Raquel and Karen have their own plans, so they’re not coming. And I’m pretty sure Babs is forcing Jaybird to come along…”

Barry nodded, already putting candy into her still open backpack.

“Well, the house is always open to you and your friends whenever you’re done trick or treating. Even Harper!”

“Harper might not last the night. But I’ll let everyone else know that we can come back here.”

“Good deal. Y’know…” Barry said, looking her over. “You’ve really grown up, kiddo. The Flash is a good look on you.”

She laughed and rubbed the back of her neck, the cowl of one of Barry’s old costumes hanging loose behind her head.

“Well, who else is gonna take it from you in the future?”

A knock sounded on the door, both looking to see Zatanna and Dick waving cheerfully at them through the window.

“Looks like that’s my cue. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You can tell me all about it whenever you wake up tomorrow, alright? Go have a good night with your friends.”

She smiled and nodded, hurrying toward the door and opening it.

“Trick or treat,” Dick said with a smirk from behind his Batman cowl.

“Funny. Aunt Iris said you guys can take some candy before we leave. And we have to go pick up Harper before we even start trick or treating.”

Once her friends had gotten some candy, she shut the front door behind her and took a look at everyone’s costumes.

“Good to know we’re still coordinating our Justice League costumes. C’mon, Harper lives this way!”

She led the way through the neighborhood, stopping at one house and knocking on the door.

A little girl dressed in a Kid Flash costume answered the door, brightening immediately when she realized who was there.

Wally grinned and crouched down so they were roughly eye level.

“Trick or treat, Harper. Ready for the best Halloween ever?”

“Yeah! Oh, there’s so many friends!” Harper said, eyes wide behind Wally’s old goggles.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of friends this year. And we’ve got a lot of houses to hit before the night’s over!”

“How much candy are we gonna get??”

Wally’s grin widened as she picked Harper up and set her on her shoulders.

“All of the candy! There’s no time to lose!”

Harper’s grandparents smiled at them from the doorway.

“Take good care of her,” they said.

“You can count on me!”

“So, how does a Team Halloween work, exactly?” Gar asked.

“Kid takes us trick or treating across the country and then we either retire to Mount Justice or to Kid’s house. It depends on our mood. Nightwing and I have been doing this with Kid for… What is this? Seven years now?”

“Seven years of running around getting more candy than three kids ever needed,” Dick said, nodding slightly.

“We have permission to use my house after trick or treating,” Wally said, setting Harper down as they approached their first house, walking up with her and holding her hand. “Plenty of new horror movies and we won’t be short on candy, that’s for sure. I made sure to hide some of the good candy so it wouldn’t get eaten.”

“But how do we get across the country so quickly?” Gar asked.

“Zeta tubes, Gar. KF knows all the hot spots by now so we can minimize travel time.”

“I did have some help for a while. Though of course he had to disappear again and miss Halloween with me. For the third year in a row.”

“Your vague talk of people I’ve never met frustrates me so, so much,” Jason grumbled.

“Is that the new Robin?” Harper whispered loudly to Wally.

“Yeah. He’s always like that. You get used to it.”

“Stop that,” Jason warned, looking very much not intimidating in his little Captain Marvel costume.

“Oh, but Jaybird, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Wally said, feigning innocence. “Chin up! We’ve got a long night ahead of us!”

The group finished up Central City - though it seemed like the original three were only leading them to the houses that either gave out the most candy or the full size candy bars - before taking the nearest Zeta tube to their next destination.

They were led around by the founders of the Team, each one knowing and remembering which houses to hit that had the best haul for candy.

And some of the houses remembered them, too. Greeting them with cheerful smiles and giving everyone in their group extra candy just because they were with Kaldur, Dick and Wally.

“Okay, last two stops are Gotham and then Starling and then we’ll head back to Central,” Wally said.

“Why are we going from Gotham to Starling? It would have been more efficient to hit up Starling right after Central,” Babs said.

“It’s how we’ve always done it. We hit hometowns last, except for Central and Atlantis, of course,” Dick explained. “And we’ve kept Starling as the last place to go even though our Starling City hero hasn’t joined us in years!”

“Perhaps we will get lucky and he will show himself,” Kaldur said.

“Like the true cryptid he is…” Wally muttered. “How you holding up, Harper? Having fun?”

“Lot’s of fun! I have so much candy!”

“Lots of candy is good! That’s the whole point, right? Do you wanna sit on Nightwing’s shoulders? He’s finally tall.”

Harper grinned and nodded.

Wally and Dick made the transfer, Wally letting out a breath and rolling her shoulders slightly, hearing a satisfying crack.

They stepped into Gotham, keeping close to each other since the city was more dangerous than most.

They stopped at all the good places, even taking a stop at the police department.

Jim Gordon was more than happy to give them candy, and it gave Wally a chance to say hello to some of the officers she knew.

Aaron Cash snuck her, Harper and Babs some extra candy before they left.

As they were heading to their last stop in Gotham before moving on, Wally heard Harper gasp loudly.

“It’s Batman!” she cried out happily.

Everyone looked up to where she was pointing, seeing the silhouette of Batman watching them from a gargoyle.

“Yeah… That’s definitely Batman,” Dick said. “Guess some heroes can’t take a night off, huh?”

He said the last part loudly, ensuring that Bruce could hear him.

Wally giggled as she imagined Batman narrowing his eyes at them because of Dick’s comment.

They moved on, poking some fun at the fact that Batman really hadn’t taken the night off, though no one could blame him.

“Phew… We’re finally here,” Wally said, knocking on the front doors of Wayne Manor. “I know Alfred’s got the goods every year.”

“He might be sending some over for the after-party,” Babs said. “And my dad is sending over some of our homemade snacks, too!”

“Oh, cool! No shortage of snacks this year!”

Once Alfred opened the door, Wally grinned widely and held out her backpack.

“Trick or treat!”

“Happy Halloween, Miss West,” Alfred greeted, already putting candy and treats into her nearly full bag. “And to the rest of you as well. And who is this young lady?”

“This is Harper. KF rescued her that day the dimensions split between kids and adults. She’s Kid Flash’s biggest fan now.”

“Oh, I see. Before you all set off to continue the night, I have been told to inform you that the mansion is open for your Halloween after-party.”

“Yeah, but I heard Mr. Wayne doesn’t show up to his after-parties. Too busy with extra work at the office,” Wally said, a teasing tone to her voice.

“Well, I am sure Master Bruce could make an exception for tonight.”

“Thanks, but no thanks, Alfred. We’re gonna chill at my house after this.”

“Very well, Miss West. Do enjoy your night.”

“Will do. C’mon, guys, we’ve still got one entire city to cover before the end of the night!”

With Wally in the lead, they took the nearest Zeta tube to Starling City.

She led them to all the good houses with the best and most candy before leading her friends toward Oliver Queen’s house.

“I wonder what Ollie has for us this year,” Dick said.

“He’s been very tight lipped about it this time,” Wally added with a small nod. “I mean, does he really think we’d spill the secret if we knew?”

“He knows us better than we think.”

The streets were empty as they kept walking, most people sticking to the more populated areas of the city for safety.

“What’s with billionaires and living on the edges of their cities…?” Jason grumbled.

“It does seem to be a pattern,” Babs said. “But more importantly, we should find out who the person following us is.”

“Oh, so that just wasn’t me being weird about things. Okay, cool,” Wally said, stopping their group and turning to look at the rooftops.

She spotted a figure with what looked like a bow and quiver on their back.

Grumbling, she ran up the side of the building and came to a stop in front of her target.

“Stop following us. We’re fine,” she said, a bite to her tone as she narrowed her eyes at Roy.

“And here I thought you might have missed me.”

She grumbled again, pointing at him.

“Wait here for a second.”

Running back down, she stopped in front of Dick.

“Harper, cover your ears. And someone cover Gar’s ears too.”

“Oh boy…” Dick mumbled.

Harper looked confused as she covered her ears, but did so without complaint.

Wally took a deep breath as she ran up the building again.

“You MOTHERFUCKER!” she screamed.

M’gann gasped and quickly clapped her hands over Gar’s ears.

Jason snorted in amusement, batting away Babs’ hands when she tried to cover his ears as well.

“You think you can just up and disappear  _ again _ and then try to come back like nothing happened  _ again _ ?! The nerve you have, Roy Harper! You really couldn’t wait until we got anymore intel on where the real one is or, y’know, IF HE’S EVEN ALIVE?! There’s such a tiny chance that Cadmus left him alive and you might be chasing after a corpse! Do you even use your head at any point when you come up with these dumbass fucking ideas?!”

Roy had no room to say anything as she kept ranting and yelling at him.

“Jason, you’ve created a monster. I hope you know that,” Dick said.

“I think it’s funny. She’s finally looking like a normal human being.”

“So, don’t even  _ think _ of trying to come back into my life like this if you’re just going to disappear again with no warning! If that’s your whole plan, then you can just leave right the fuck now and come back when you’ve decided to not be a shitty older brother!”

“Walls, I-”

“No excuses! Either stay or go! I’m tired of waiting around for you to make up your mind! Go on your pointless journey to find the real Roy Harper instead of living your life like a normal person!”

“Newsflash! I’m not a normal person! I’m not even a real person!”

“If being normal is what makes you a real person, than I guess I’m not fucking real either!”

Roy hesitated at that, eyes wide behind his domino mask.

“I’ve given you your options already. Either you go and stay gone or your stay for good. I’m not going to compromise.”

A whistle caught their attention, both looking over the edge of the roof to see Dick waving at them.

“Hey, we gotta go! We gotta drop Harper off at home before it gets too late, remember?” he called out.

“I’ll be right down!” she called back, fixing a glare on Roy. “This is your only warning. Next time, things will get physical and I know you can’t keep up.”

She ran back down to the street before he could reply, taking her backpack from Kaldur.

“Sorry you had to see that,” she apologized, voice much softer and a bit raspy from her screaming match with Roy.

“Sounds like he had it coming, honestly,” Jason said. “And what did I say about expressing anger? Be a person!”

“He definitely had it coming,” Artemis said. “Apparently he didn’t learn his lesson from last time.”

“Who was that, anway?” Gar asked, shaking M’gann’s hands off of his ears.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Dick said. “For now, let’s hit up our last house and get little miss Harper back home.”

They finally made it to Oliver’s house, receiving warm greetings and more treats than they knew what to do with.

Though Dick couldn’t help but notice that before they left, Wally had pulled Ollie aside to talk with him quietly.

No doubt informing him of their Roy sighting and the ensuing argument they had.

He watched Ollie nod and place a hand on her shoulder, saying something to her before gesturing toward her friends.

She gave a small nod before rejoining them.

If anyone had noticed her hushed conversation like Dick had seen, they didn’t bring it up.

“Alright, Harper,” Wally said, setting her down as they approached her front door. “Did you have fun?”

“Lots of fun! Can we do it again next year??”

“Sure. I’ll come trick or treating with you next year. Don’t eat all of your candy all at once, alright? You’ll get sick…”

“I won’t! I promise!”

Wally smiled and nodded, ensuring she went inside alright before heading back over to her friends.

“Okay, time to start the after-party!”

“Ugh, more socializing… I’m going home…” Jason grumbled.

“Nope! No, you’re not!” Babs said, grabbing him by the cape and pulling him back over. “You’re going to keep having fun with us.”

“It’s not really an actual party,” Dick explained. “We just hang out and watch scary movies until we all pass out.”

“And eat as much candy as we can without making ourselves sick!” Wally added. “I always win that one.”

“Pretty sure no one except Barry can out-eat you, weirdo,” Artemis said with a teasing smirk.

“Not the point, Artie.”

“Oh, so we just do what we always do when there’s no missions…” Jason mumbled.

“Pretty much! But it’s still a lot of fun and a good way to wind down after all the excitement!” Zatanna said. “But are we all gonna fit in your living room, Wally?”

“We’ll make it work.”

As soon as they were inside, Wally was already dumping her candy onto the coffee table.

“Sacrifice your candy to the coffee table gods!”

“All hail the spooky time gods! May they accept our humble offerings!” Dick joined in, laughing a bit as he dumped his own candy onto the table.

“May they bless us with the spookiest of times tonight,” Kaldur added, also dumping all of his candy onto the pile.

“...What the fuck is going on here?” Jason asked, completely stunned.

“Tradition,” Artemis said. “They praise the spooky time gods and then we all dump our candy in one huge pile for a free for all.”

“If you don’t sacrifice your candy, you’ll be cursed for one thousand years,” Zatanna added, smirking at him as she emptied her candy bag.

“I already feel cursed just being a part of this Team…” Jason grumbled.

Eventually, all of the candy was piled onto the coffee table - and the floor.

Wally disappeared for a moment, returning with multiple bundles of clothing.

“Pajama time! Can’t watch scary movies without being super comfy!”

“Did you steal everyone’s PJs again?” Dick asked, taking his out of her hands.

“No! Red and Alfred sent them to me! And Artie gave me hers a few days ago, so I’ve just had them.”

“Where are we even supposed to get changed?” Jason grumbled, grabbing his pajamas.

“The girls can use my room! And there’s a guest room and bathroom down the hall that the boys can use to change.”

Wally smiled, leading the girls up to her room and opening the door.

“Welcome to my domain! Sorry if it’s a bit messy. I had trouble finding my costume for tonight…” she apologized, smiling slightly and shutting the door behind them.

“Woah…” Babs muttered as she looked around. “Nightwing mentioned you liked the Justice League, but I didn’t think it was this extreme.”

“You haven’t seen the notebook collection,” Artemis said as she strippeed out of her costume.

“There’s more than just the Team collective ones and the member ones?”

“You have barely scratched the surface. She has a horde of them.”

“Can confirm. I’ve seen them,” Zatanna said as she tossed her jacket aside. “You don’t mind that I’m just throwing my clothes around, right, Wally?”

“It doesn’t bother me.”

Once everyone was dressed in their pajamas, the group made themselves comfy wherever they could in the living room.

Wally sat on Dick’s lap, leaning her head on his shoulder contently as the first movie played.

“So…” Jason began. “Anyone want to fill us in on what the hell happened in Starling City?”

“Yeah, who was that guy?” Gar asked.

“That was Roy Harper. A.K.A Red Arrow,” Wally said, a slightly bitter tone to her voice. “He got pissy when he wasn’t allowed in the League and went off on his own, finally got in and it was revealed that not only was he the mole but he was also a Cadmus clone, and then after shenanigans happened on New Years, he fucked off to try and find the original Roy Harper. That’s the short version.”

“I feel like we don’t have time to unpack the long version again…” Dick said, rubbing her side comfortingly and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Just throw away the whole suitcase, Walls,” Conner said without looking up from his phone.

“I try, Kon, but someone keeps digging it out of the trash and giving it back.”

“Burn it, then,” Artemis suggested.

“Alright, enough with the baggage talk,” Kaldur interrupted before it went any further.

“Buzzkill,” all four mumbled under their breaths.

As the night went on, Gar proved to be a worthy adversary in the candy eating contest, though Wally still came out on top.

Eventually, people began to doze off and sleep.

“...Wanna talk about it?” Dick whispered once he was sure everyone else was asleep.

The only perk of both of them being night owls: secret conversations.

“He thought he wasn’t a real person because he wasn’t normal…” Wally whispered back.

“I know.”

“By that logic, I’m not a real person either, right?”

“If we were to go by that, yeah.”

“But he’s definitely a real person and so am I.”

“He is.”

“If we consider Kon a real person even though he’s a Cadmus clone, then Roy’s a real person, too. Clone or not.”

“Very true, very true.”

“Who cares about the real Roy Harper, anyway. None of us knew him that well and I have zero emotional attachment to him.”

“Neither do I.”

Wally huffed through her nose, pouting slightly.

“Why are you still so good at this?”

“Years of practice and perfecting my craft,” he replied with a small smile. “Feeling better?”

“A little, yeah…”

He hummed quietly and kissed her cheek affectionately.

“Are you tired? Do you want to head to bed?”

“My thoughts are a little too loud to sleep, but we can lay in bed anyway…”

He nodded, shutting off the TV and standing with Wally in his arms.

Quietly, he walked up the steps, nudging her bedroom door open and shutting it with his foot.

“Your room’s a mess…” he said, voice still quiet but they were no longer whispering.

“The girls were throwing their clothes around while we were getting changed.”

“You also haven’t cleaned up your room in a bit.”

“Hey, just because you have Alfred doesn’t mean everyone does.”

“Fair enough,” he said, laying on her bed with Wally on his chest. “Sorry in advance if I fall asleep on you.”

“Honestly, it would be more surprising if you didn’t.”

He huffed a laugh, catching her lips in a kiss.

“Have I told you I love you recently?” he mumbled against her lips.

“My memory might be a bit hazy. I could use a reminder.”

He chuckled, tangling one hand in her hair as he kissed her.

“I love you so much, Wally West. More than life itself.”

“I think I love you more.”

This pulled out a sharp laugh from him, Wally quickly shushing him as she giggled.

“That’s so not true. You didn’t even know what a crush was until you were almost 16.”

“Low blow. I didn’t know a lot of things.”

“Fair point. But in all seriousness, I think I got lucky when I managed to win you over.”

She smiled at him.

“You’re the only one who can handle me.”

“And you’re the only one who can handle  _ me _ .”

“I guess we were just meant to be. What kinda trope is that? Star-crossed lovers or some shit?”

“Has Iris been making you watch romcoms again?”

“No. Well, I don’t think so.”

“Do you even believe in stuff like star-crossed lovers or soulmates?”

“Listen, I have shared a body with not one but two separate mystical beings. Who even knows what I believe in at this point?”

He hummed at that.

“You didn’t answer the question, Miss West.”

“Star-crossed lovers sounds like bullshit. But soulmates might be a thing.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Hard not to believe it could be true when you look at who I live with. The way they talk about and to each other and all that… Almost makes it seem like the universe made them for each other.”

“That’s not very scientific.”

“And I bring up my body sharing experiences again.”

“And I ignore your body sharing experience evidence in favor of telling you to try and sleep.”

“If you wake up before me, you are legally not allowed to leave.”

“Under what law?”

“The law that says when your girlfriend falls asleep on you, you don’t move or you’ll wake her up.”

“Sometimes I hate that you actually know things about relationships now.”

“Suck it up, Dork Wonder.”

He chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, holding her close and pulling the blanket over them.

“Try to sleep, alright?”

“No promises.”

“All I ask is that you try.”

“I know. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”


End file.
